Mr. Speaker, today I am presenting a petition calling on the government to restore a program to protect the banks of the St. Lawrence River. The government has abdicated this responsibility for more than 20 years at the expense of those living along the river who have been severely impacted by erosion.
This petition echoes another petition that was presented in the last Parliament. Unfortunately, in addition to refusing to meet with those living along the river who travelled to Ottawa for the occasion, the Minister of Transport added insult to injury by not tabling a response to the petition. As a result of the election, we were unable to follow up with the Speaker of the House in order to have the minister's response to this petition.
I hope that the hon. Minister of Transport will be more respectful of the petitioners and will provide a response that is as positive as possible.