Mr. Speaker, that question is very relevant to this debate, and it is far more relevant than much of what I have been hearing from the government benches.
My colleague spoke about the Jacques-Cartier Bridge, but I believe he meant to say the Champlain Bridge. However, this decision will also affect the Jacques-Cartier Bridge.
In general, tolls are used as a traffic control measure. The decision to place a toll on this specific piece of infrastructure will clearly have an impact on the other entry and exit routes.
If a toll is specifically imposed on the Champlain Bridge, many motorists and truck drivers will choose to use other routes, such as the Jacques-Cartier Bridge, the Victoria Bridge or the Louis-Hippolyte-LaFontaine tunnel. That tunnel will also likely need some work done.
In that context, this one decision will have a major impact on the city and on the provincial economy. As I said, nearly one-fifth of Quebec's GDP now crosses the Champlain Bridge.
We cannot call it ignorance, since the Conservative government has five Quebec MPs. However, we can say that the government is showing its contempt for the vision that the Quebec government and the Montreal authorities have for Montreal and the new Champlain Bridge.
The Champlain Bridge needs to be replaced because it is falling apart. The federal government failed to meet its responsibility to take good care of the bridge and now wants to make commuters pay the bill, even though the bridge serves Quebec's entire economic community.