Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague from Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis for his speech. His riding is in the greater Quebec City area.
He talked about broken promises when it comes to infrastructure. With all due respect to him, when I hear him speak, I cannot help but remember that famous photograph of him and his colleagues, all proudly wearing Nordiques jerseys and giving a thumbs up. At the time, the Conservatives promised that the Harper government would make investments in building the Vidéotron Centre. Hon. members will recall, as the people of Quebec City certainly do, that the Conservatives did not invest a single dollar, a single penny, in building the Vidéotron Centre. They had made the promise with all the theatrics that they are known for. In fact, that is what they are doing again this evening, saying things like “taking action is a must to deal with this rust”.
I have no doubt about their ability to put on a dog and pony show and their capacity for theatrics. That said, I want to reassure my colleague from Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis that in the Quebec Bridge story, the chapter on finding a lasting solution to repairing and restoring the bridge remains to be written. For a decade, the Conservatives failed to take any action and failed to find this lasting solution. That very member was around the cabinet table at the time.
We will deliver on this. We have given ourselves the means to succeed, beginning with the appointment of Yvon Charest as negotiator, for example. He has submitted his report. It is important to remember that the bridge is over 100 years old. It is an engineering marvel that allows 33,000 vehicles a day to move from one shore to the other, from the north shore to the south shore and from the south shore to the north shore of Quebec City. It is much more than a simple road link. It is a jewel of our heritage, part of the pride of Quebec City and Canada, pride that should shine all around the world.
That is why, where the Conservatives failed for 10 years, where they failed to take action for 10 years, and while they left the bridge to rust for 10 years, we have given ourselves the means to succeed by taking the politics out of this matter and brining in an extremely competent individual, Yvon Charest. His mandate was to negotiate with CN and to determine, with CN and with Quebec City, the best lasting solution for the Quebec Bridge. This included everything from transferring ownership with adequate compensation to legislation, and that is what Mr. Charest did. Infrastructure Canada is currently examining his report.
I can assure the member for Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis that we will find a solution for the restoration and enhancement of the Quebec Bridge. We will succeed where the Conservatives failed for 10 years. One end of the bridge is in my riding. I can almost see it from my house. Of course, I would have preferred to see this matter resolved a long time ago.
We want to get this right. This matter has been mishandled too often in the past, and there is no way we are going to let it be mishandled again. We want a long-term solution that will highlight the priceless value of this heritage jewel. It is an engineering marvel, not to mention a crucial economic and transportation link for the Quebec City region.
I can also assure the member that our government will take action for the long term. Until then, the owner, Canadian National, and Quebec's ministry of transportation, the MTQ, will ensure the safety and stability of the bridge. As for enhancement, that is what we promised in 2015, and we will keep that promise.