Jean-Pierre Blackburn

[Rail Transportation, March 29th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, on February 24, an agreement was reached between the members of the United Transportation Union, who are employed by CN, and their employer of course.

The results of the vote will be made known on April 10 . I nevertheless wish to be clear: Bill C-46 is still on the order paper, and the government would quickly take action if railway services were once again disrupted by this labour dispute.

[Saint-Hubert Airport, March 29th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the hon. member once again that she wants us to take one-third of the regional economic development budget and use it to repave the runway of her airport in Saint-Hubert.

I want to remind the House that good regional economic development means being proper and fair to all the regions in Quebec. There are 14 regions here. That is the situation in which we work. The Blackburn plan and the six actions that we have taken have been very well received in the regions of Quebec.

[Saint-Hubert Airport, March 29th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, we do not need lobbyists from the Bloc Québécois to do our work with the companies. We are quite capable of dealing directly with stakeholders, and we do plan to speak with the management at Pratt & Whitney.

There is no way, however, that my department will pour one third of its budget allowance into a single file. I say no to that.

[Saint-Hubert Airport, March 29th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I do not think that the hon. member is aware of what this government is doing for the regions of Quebec and for the aerospace industry as well. In December, Minister Michael Fortier announced an investment of $350 million to help Pratt & Whitney. I repeat, $350 million to help Pratt & Whitney. This goes to show that our support for the aerospace industry is strong.

Moreover, my own department has increased by 61% what goes to the Montérégie region. That is 61% better than what the previous government did for that region.

[Saint-Hubert Airport, March 29th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, when the Bloc Québécois was elected to this House, it promised to protect the interests of all Quebeckers and all regions of Quebec. Now, instead of doing that, the leader of the Bloc Québécois wants to focus on one single issue. He wants to allocate one third of my department's funding to make the member for Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert happy. We introduced six new tools to help struggling regions in Quebec. We are working to help all of the regions, not just one project.

[Saint-Hubert Airport, March 29th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, does the leader of the Bloc Québécois have a clue about regional economic development? In Quebec, 14 regions share a $200 million envelope. The leader of the Bloc Québécois is asking me to invest $70 million—one third of the regional economic development envelope—in a single project in the member for Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert's riding. Perhaps the leader of the Bloc Québécois could give me a list of the regions in Quebec from which he believes we should take money so that we can do as his member asks.

[Aerospace Industry, March 28th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the member has asked that question several times now. Over the last few days, I said that we were going to be looking at this matter. We have examined it in a little more detail in recent hours. In fact, what the department is being asked for is $70 million out of a total budget of $200 million. Obviously, allocating $70 million to this project would mean depriving all the other regions of Quebec. I believe that the promoter should instead take a look at the strategic infrastructure program.

[Saint-Hubert Airport, March 27th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I would remind the hon. member that this government’s wish is to contribute to regional economic development. Insofar as this file remains accessible and the funds are available, we are going to do all we can to try and support the project in question, but we must of course also take budget considerations into account.

[Saint-Hubert Airport, March 27th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to recall that rebuilding this airport runway represents a cost of $70 million. We have a resource envelope at the Economic Development Agency of Canada of about $200 million. When the file is submitted to us, we will take a serious look at the whole thing and we will see what we can do to support the company.

[Transportation, March 26th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec was asked to contribute some $70 million to rebuild this airport runway. You will agree that, in view of our total budget of approximately $200 million, it is a considerable sum of money.

Nevertheless, we shall see what we can do and what all the parties involved will contribute. A serious analysis will be undertaken once the formal application is submitted.