Madam Speaker, my colleague from Joliette aptly said that the solution to unblocking infrastructure work across the country, especially in Quebec, is to transfer the funds with as few conditions as possible.
Our colleague from Mégantic—L'Érable said that obviously we would like the provinces in turn to impose as few conditions as possible on the municipalities. Mayors know all about this.
My question is for the government. Would it consider easing up on some of the conditions?
It would make sense for the funding to be granted without conditions. The problem with this federation is that half the taxes go to the federal government, although it has less than half of the jurisdictions. That is where transfers come in. It is fundamental and a matter of efficiency.
I want to raise two specific points. In the case of transfers under the gas tax program and Quebec's contribution, are people in the government in a position to allow work on municipal buildings? Sometimes that needs to happen. Is there room to do some work at internal economy that could lead to tremendous savings? When funding is blocked, it can double or triple the cost of a project. Some local experts just want to get to work and get the economy moving. That is what every MP wants.