Josée Verner

[Regional Development, March 22nd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his excellent question. In fact, our government has supported all regions of Quebec, and especially the Quebec City region, since 2006. On March 11, we announced a major investment in the National Optics Institute. Last week, accompanied by the Prime Minister, we announced a major investment in the Quebec City airport. Unlike the Bloc, which has no track record, we continue to add to our record while reducing taxes.

[Access to Information, March 7th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, access to information requests are administered by qualified, independent public servants who apply the legislation.

[Quebec City Arena, March 7th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, my colleagues in the Quebec City region and I have nothing to hide. We have a solid track record. The Bloc has no track record to speak of.

Access to information requests are made under the act and given to public servants who apply the act.

[Quebec City Arena, March 7th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, our position has been clear for several months. We indicated that we do not have a program for facilities designed mainly to house professional sports teams. We also indicated that the private sector must make a significant investment. Given the fact that most of the money for the proposed Quebec City arena is public money, the federal government does not have a program to support it.

That being said, at the beginning of October, 60,000 people marched on the Plains of Abraham to bring back the Nordiques.

[Quebec City Arena, March 3rd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, from the beginning, we have been asking for complete information, including substantial private sector investments, basically since my discussion with the mayor, shortly before he made the announcement.

As far as we were concerned, it was clear that the project would be funded mainly with public money. Thus, it no longer fit within the framework of any of our programs. That said, we do not have any programs for professional sports and we have no intention of creating such a program.

[Quebec City Arena, March 3rd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by telling the hon. member for Québec that I do not need her permission to put on a Nordiques jersey. We all would love to see the Nordiques return to Quebec City.

That being said, our position has always been very clear: we asked that a substantial contribution from the private sector be included in the financing package, which is not the case at this time. We do not have any programs that would cover this kind of request, and we have no intention of creating one.

[Quebec City Arena, March 2nd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, as we have said many times, the government wanted the private sector to have a significant stake in this project and the agreement concluded between the Quebecor group and Mayor Labeaume falls short of the mark.

I want to take this opportunity to point out to the hon. member for Québec, who called me “supposedly” responsible for the Quebec City region, that I still have my responsibilities, whereas she has been replaced by her colleague from Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord.

[Quebec City Arena, March 2nd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, by all accounts, the sum invested by the private sector under the agreement concluded between the Quebecor group and Mayor Labeaume is clearly inadequate. That being said, as the Rousseau report indicates, the project has a very significant revitalization component and following conversations with my colleague, Sam Hamad, I can say that we will be delighted to contribute to that important component of the project.

[Quebec City Arena, March 1st, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity to speak to Mayor Labeaume at lunchtime. He told me about the agreement between Quebecor and the City of Quebec. That being said, public money remains the primary source of funding for the project.

It is very important to point out that the project includes an extremely important urban renewal component, as recommended in the Rousseau report. I have had the opportunity to talk about the infrastructure with my colleague, and if the federal government can contribute under existing programs, it will help with road infrastructure.

[Quebec City Arena, February 28th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the member is incorrect. Our Quebec caucus has fully supported the project from the beginning, and we did not wait for Bloc questions to do so.

That being said, what applies to Quebec City applies to all other cities: a business plan must be prepared and submitted to us for every project.