Mr. Speaker, VIA Rail would rather award a $1-billion contract to a German multinational than to a Quebec company.
The Minister of Transport could have stood up for Quebec workers in three ways. He could have informed Bombardier of the Siemens bid, he could have included local economic spinoffs in the contract criteria, and he could have cancelled the bidding process and started over, but he did nothing.
Will the minister tell VIA Rail that it must reconsider its decision and give Bombardier a chance to win this contract, or will he let VIA Rail announce on Friday that it is awarding the contract to Germany?