Madam Speaker, tonight I am going to speak about infrastructure and, especially, the gas tax. I have trouble understanding the government's position. My original question dealt with the indexation of the gas tax. I do not think the government understood my question, so I want to explain the context in which I asked it.
Each time Canadians put gas in their cars, they pay the federal government 10¢ per litre. It is a tax levied by this government and previous governments. The government gives 5¢ of the 10¢ to the municipalities. Is that clear? When the government supported making the gas tax permanent, the 5¢ arrangement was made permanent. All that the NDP is asking for is that 1¢ more be given to the municipalities, so that they can carry out their infrastructure projects. That equates to $500 million per year for our communities. Moreover, it is taxpayers’ money.
Since January, I have travelled throughout my riding and spoken with the mayors. When I asked them what their needs were, they often emphasized the lack of sustainable funding for infrastructure projects. In Rivière-Beaudette and Sainte-Justine-de-Newton, the level crossings are a problem. In Vaudreuil-Dorion, a new section of Highway 20 needs building and exits added in order to promote commercial transport at several locations along Highway 20 and Highway 40.
The government had promised $350 million to carry out projects associated with the continental gateway, sums that were never allocated. What worries me is that the government treats infrastructure projects like election campaign tools. How else can this government’s failure to return the gas tax to taxpayers be explained? The Conservatives have spent years condemning a carbon tax. They carry on like hypocrites and keep the gas tax to carry out their projects: megaprisons, the Queen's Jubilee, the commemoration of the War of 1812, the name change for the Canadian Navy. When elections are near, it is all about infrastructure.
All the marketing exercises—signs, costly press conferences—are not only money wasted, they also set a dangerous precedent. Are we to believe that each new government is going to engage in a publicity stunt every time it achieves something? Here is my advice to the government: it should do its job, be transparent, and it will not need to engage in this kind of marketing.
I would like a precise answer to my last question and not the kind of off-the-cuff answer that is usually given. Why did the government vote against our motion to give one additional cent to the municipalities?