Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to rise on behalf of the Bloc Québécois to address Motion M-298 put forward by the hon. member for Labrador. I will take a moment to read it because it is important. It states:
That, in the opinion of the House, the government should work co-operatively with the governments of the territories and of the seven provinces which constitute the Provincial North, and with Aboriginal and local governments in these regions, to develop a strategy to improve transportation and other vital public infrastructure.
I will say right off that, immediately following my remarks, I will be moving an amendment to Motion M-298, which I will explain. I realize, of course, that this amendment will require the consent of the mover of the motion, the hon. member for Labrador. I am moving this amendment simply because one has to be very careful in drafting a text and introducing it as a motion.
The text before us states “the government should work co-operatively with the governments of the territories and of the seven provinces which constitute the Provincial North, and with Aboriginal and local governments in these regions”. The problem is with the phrase “with local government in these regions”. Where aboriginal people are concerned, the federal government acts as their trustee, and it would automatically be responsible for whatever share is owed by aboriginal communities, should these communities encounter financial difficulties. However, the wording of the motion is suggesting that local governments would be expected to participate financially, since it talks about developing a strategy cooperatively with local governments. These are municipalities and cities. As a former president of the Union des municipalités du Québec, I cannot support a position that might require local governments to participate financially once all is said and done. I would be much more comfortable if the words “and local governments in these regions” were taken out of the motion. This would prevent local and municipal governments from being put in front of a de facto situation and having to participate financially.
We must not forget that, according the Constitution, municipalities fall under the jurisdiction of provincial governments. In any discussions that might take place, since we are talking about cooperation among the governments of the territories and the seven provinces, the Government of Quebec would inevitably be called upon. So, the province itself will undertake discussions with the local municipalities. They could very well be opposed to participating financially, and could tell the Quebec government that since it was the one that held talks with the federal government and since it was the one that spoke about a transportation system in the north, the province should be the one to pay, for the benefit of everyone.
It is difficult to be against the principle of a strategy to improve transportation and vital public infrastructure in the north. That is why I will table an amendment, if the member for Labrador will agree. I am well aware that the sponsor of a motion must consent to an amendment so that it can be debated or be put to vote. I hope that the member is listening, that he hears me, and that he will agree with this solution. I will obviously try to convince him of the relevance of this amendment.
I will come back to this point. When we say that the government should work cooperatively with the governments of the territories and of the seven provinces to develop a strategy with aboriginal and local governments in these regions, this development could inevitably requirement financial participation.
As I was saying, the fact that the aboriginal peoples would be involved does not create a problem, since the federal government has a fiduciary responsibility for aboriginal people and their land. If there were financial needs it would automatically be the federal government that would see to meeting them. This is not up to local governments in Quebec, which have their own taxation system. If there were participation, the local governments could be called on to help improve transportation and vital public infrastructure. I believe that this network should be national and should be funded in part by the federal government and the provinces involved in such talks.
Many of the northern territories are resource rich. They also have tourism because they are beautiful and people can go there. I encourage everyone to do so. That being said, they are rich in natural resources that are important for development. Quebec has hydroelectric dams and mining. I think that a public infrastructure and transportation network is critical for the north, but this motion presented in the House of Commons should not indirectly oblige local governments to participate financially.
We may agree with the principle underlying the motion, but we cannot leave the words “with local governments in these regions” in the text.
That bears repeating. Too often, we try to fix problems by presenting motions like this one. Every word in it is important. The way this motion is written suggests that financial participation will be required because it says “with local governments in these regions”. That points to shared costs.
I can tell you that local governments in Quebec are not prepared to talk about financial participation. I want to be perfectly clear about that because, according to the Constitution, municipalities fall under the jurisdiction of provinces and territories. If there were any needs, the fact that the provinces would be at the table to talk, to cooperate, to figure out strategies and funding would automatically enable them to have a conversation with the cities if they wanted to share costs. They will have their debate.
In Quebec, a provincial-municipal round table exists to discuss problems between the Government of Quebec and the municipalities, since the municipalities fall under provincial jurisdiction. Accordingly, I believe that that organization should be the one to decide how the municipalities will participate in any strategy to improve critical public infrastructure, and not a federal round table, which, in any case, could force the provinces, territories and aboriginal communities to contribute financially.
As I said, the federal government has a fiduciary responsibility for aboriginal communities. Accordingly, if it ever had to ask for money, it would surely find a way to give money to the communities so they could contribute financially. Since the federal government has no legitimate authority over local governments, it is not up to the government to determine any action, especially since the municipalities come under Quebec's jurisdiction.
Once my amendment is accepted by the hon. member for Labrador, I will be pleased to discuss it and support it if our amendment is supported by the majority in this House. At that point, we could then support Motion M-298.
I would like to present my amendment with the time I have left.
I move, seconded by the hon. member for Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, that the motion be amended by deleting all the words “and local governments in these regions”.
