Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, if the voice of the people is the voice of God, I would like to tell my colleague that the people in my riding elected a Conservative for a very simple reason: when a party is in power, it can really accomplish things. In 20 years, the Bloc has not been able to accomplish anything in Ottawa.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, the member for Outremont claims that our party is trying to destroy everything in Quebec, when in fact no government has ever engaged as flexible an open federalism as this Conservative government has. We are working on building a strong Quebec within a united Canada—I repeat, a strong Quebec within a united Canada—so that the Quebec nation recognized by this House in November 2006 can fully thrive and shine both across Canada and on the international scene.

Broadband Canada Program  Mr. Speaker, yesterday, our government announced a series of projects to receive conditional funding approval under the Broadband Canada: Connecting Rural Canadians program. These 52 projects, in nine provinces and territories across Canada, will bring broadband Internet access to an estimated 169,000 households.

Firearms Registry  Mr. Speaker, by turning its back on honest hunters and farmers in Quebec who want to see the useless and expensive long gun registry scrapped, the Bloc is showing, yet again, that it does not have a monopoly on Quebec values. After 20 years of resistance and empty debate from the Bloc's leader, it is high time that his more taciturn disciples tell us why they are really here in Ottawa: to undermine Quebec's interests.

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, the Liberal leader has not bothered to ask a question about Canada's economy for a month now, and the last time he did, he proposed to increase the tax burden on Canadians and Quebeckers. Since March 29, the Liberal leader has focused his attention on so-called scandals, on forcing his members to support the long gun registry and on promoting his book, instead of on the most important issue to Canadians: the economy.

Quebec Bridge  Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to speak to motion M-423, which proposes that the Government of Canada purchase the Quebec Bridge and finish the repair work. I would like to focus on three essential aspects of motion M-423. First, I would like to explain why it is important to keep the Quebec Bridge in good condition, for historical purposes, but also for transportation purposes.

National Volunteer Week  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today in celebration of National Volunteer Week. I would particularly like to highlight the invaluable contribution of young volunteers in Quebec and across Canada. Every year, more than 12 million Canadians collectively volunteer more than 2 billion hours to make their communities and our country a better place to live.

Leader of the Bloc Québécois  Mr. Speaker, the latest Olympic Games made Quebeckers prouder than ever to be Canadian, but the Bloc Québécois leader is doing his best to ensure that their pride does not have lasting consequences for federalism in Quebec. The Bloc leader's cross-Canada tour, which is wrapping up this week in Vancouver, is proof of that.

Leader of the Bloc Québécois  Mr. Speaker, the Bloc leader sank to new hypocritical lows when he proudly laid out his investment strategy in last Saturday's La Presse. According to BRANCHEZ-VOUS.com, his investments in Helios include investments in the oil sands. The leader of the resistance did not deny this fact yesterday.

Aerospace Industry  Mr. Speaker, this morning in Montreal, the Minister of Public Works and Government Services and the Minister of State (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec) announced assistance for the creation of new jobs in the Canadian aerospace industry. This is excellent news that will have direct and positive benefits for Quebec and Canada.

Bloc Québécois  Mr. Speaker, last Saturday, at the general council of the Bloc Quebecois, the Bloc leader compared Bloc members to the French resistance fighters during the Nazi occupation. Could the Minister of State for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec give us his reaction to these rather surprising comments from the Bloc?

Infrastructure  Mr. Speaker, today is a special day for me. I have invited the mayors from my riding to join us and more than 30 of them are here today. This invitation is very symbolic because, to me, it represents our raison d'être in the House: to inform and instruct all the electors in our ridings on what is behind the decisions and directions that we take in the running of our country.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I say again that our government has put in place a series of measures as part of Canada's economic action plan in order to support all segments of Canadian and Quebec society. Quebec is certainly getting its fair share this regard. I am certainly not ashamed of the last budget that provides new programs, especially for seniors, or adds money to programs for seniors in Trois-Rivières and everywhere else in Quebec.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. In fact, he is alluding to a radio interview in which I mentioned various things the unemployed in my region, who are called seasonal unemployed, could do. I sincerely think that there can be as many potential solutions as there are seasonal workers, one of which could be to find a second job in order to have more hours of work and qualify for EI benefits or work year-round.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I would like to share my time with the hon. member for Beauport—Limoilou. I would like to respond to the question from the hon. member for Joliette about the measures taken by the government to help the less fortunate. Although the economic recovery has begun, we realize that it is still fragile and that many Canadians are still experiencing difficulty.