Mr. Speaker, before I begin, I would like to point out that today is World Ovarian Cancer Day and that this week is Hunger Awareness Week.
Monday on TVA, in Quebec City, they asked the following question: Do you think that the Quebec Bridge will ever be completely repainted? Do you know the answer, Mr. Speaker? Over 2,148 people answered the question, and only 31% of them thought the bridge would be repainted someday.
The attitudes of the various parties involved in the Quebec Bridge file show a degree of cynicism on the part of the population, which those results reflect. Is the bridge destined never to be repainted, and will the matter have to go to court? I do not think so. It is always about money, about the budget. In a rich country, it all comes down to choices and priorities.
The Quebec Bridge will be celebrating its 100th anniversary just as Canada celebrates its 150th anniversary. This bridge, which will soon be 100 years old, is and will always be the world's longest cantilever bridge. Quebec should be and is proud of the bridge, and so should all Canadians. However, its sorry state has greatly tarnished its reputation. Not even the Eiffel Tower has received the accolades that have been bestowed on this bridge. It needs to be said.
For example, on May 23, 1987, Canadian and American engineers declared that it was an international historic civil engineering landmark. That is quite something. On January 24, 1996, the federal government designated it a national historic site. You would hope that with such designations, its maintenance would be routine. Unfortunately, that is not the case.
The federal government owned the bridge for 75 years, from 1918 to 1993. In 1993, it was sold to CN and two years later it was privatized. I would like to remind members that CN was a crown corporation at the time and was responsible for maintenance of the bridge, as it had been since 1923. We can see that CN and the Quebec Bridge have had a 91-year relationship, as of today. That is a long time.
Unfortunately, the bridge has been systematically neglected in recent years. For example, on November 22, 2005, auditor general Sheila Fraser said that Transport Canada needed to act to ensure the long-term viability of the Quebec Bridge. In 2009, the Delcan company said that repairs, which were planned for 1994 and 1995 and were not completed, should be started in the short term, otherwise the bridge could deteriorate. This was in 2009. Nothing was done. Some important parts have become corroded, and urgent and immediate action is necessary if we want to extend the lifespan of this historic bridge. That is what people were saying in 2009, and obviously nothing was done. Another report and nothing changes.
The government has a responsibility when it comes to public safety, heritage and tourism. It needs to accept its share of the responsibility.