Mr. Speaker, the government gives us “words, words and more words”. I am beginning my response with lyrics from a French song sung by the late Dalida because, frankly, how can the Conservative government claim to recognize the strategic importance of the Port of Québec without taking any tangible action at all?
Oh yes. I forgot. It did agree to grant $1.8 million from the infrastructure stimulus fund for sufficient pump capacity in case of fire. But we are talking here about regular maintenance. The government has nothing to brag about. Installing this infrastructure was the very least the government could do to support the Port of Québec. To come back to Dalida, all the government offers is “words, words, words”.
It is all well and good to have legislation that recognizes the importance of a basic piece of infrastructure for our country, but if the infrastructure is merely mentioned in the legislation and no resources are allocated to it, we cannot achieve results. Given the trust the people in the Quebec City region have placed in me as an elected member of Parliament, I refuse to work for nothing and insist that tangible improvements be made to the Port of Québec, which has enormous needs. Although part of the port may be protected against fire, the wharves are crumbling. If the port were a house, the windows would be leaking and the doors would no longer close. As with the Prime Minister's residence, the Conservatives prefer to neglect the issue and spend all their time talking. On our side, we are proposing tangible support for this important piece of infrastructure.
I am against the approach the government proposed, saying that the players have to get involved. While in Canada we are seriously neglecting support, maintenance and development of our fundamental infrastructure, other countries in the world like Brazil, China or even the United States, which are dealing with much bigger economic problems than we are, are investing massively in infrastructure. They do not look at the costs of developing and maintaining basic infrastructure, such as ports, as a burden. They look at them as an investment in the future, a legacy to be left to the people around us, to our children and our grandchildren.
The Port of Québec has been a typical port in the Ontario-Quebec continental gateway for decades. It has been neglected and abandoned. How can we continue to tolerate this?
Given the current government's high-handed attitude toward those who come looking for handouts, it is embarrassing to think that the Port of Québec will likely not be able to handle the new influx of goods under the projected Canada-Europe free trade agreement. As an elected representative of the Quebec City region, that is something I refuse to accept.
It is truly a shame to see Canada in general miss the boat when it comes to the infrastructure upgrades needed to position our country in the community of nations after years of negligence. It is not just this government during its six-year mandate, but also previous governments that thought it was good management to cut budgets and leave the problems to future generations.
On May 2, 2011, the Quebec City region did not accept words without action. The Quebec City region will continue to reject empty words.
I hope I have managed to get the members opposite to listen to reason. I hope they were listening. I presume so, because I have a lot of respect for them, just as I do for all the people in my riding.
I invite all hon. members of this House to do something practical and exemplary for the country and all of its ports.