Mr. Speaker, as the deputy critic for rural affairs, I am concerned with the direction the government is going in. Instead of standing up and supporting all Canadians, the government is pitting rural communities against urban centres. It is signalling that infrastructure funds are to be spent entirely in big cities. Rural Canada is the backbone of our nation. The energy used to heat our homes, the wood used to build our houses, and the food we all eat is produced in rural Canada.
Will the infrastructure minister please explain why his priorities seem to leave rural Canada in the cold?