Hon. Jacques Saada (Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec and Minister responsible for the Francophonie, Lib.)

Mr. Speaker, obviously, the Minister of National Revenue has no intention of discouraging research and development. There are difficulties to overcome. The minister is working very hard on this, and answers will be forthcoming very soon.

Hon. Jacques Saada (Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec and Minister responsible for the Francophonie, Lib.)

Mr. Speaker, as a matter of fact, the minister is working very hard to shorten these delays. I am sure that the findings and results will be made public very shortly.

Hon. Jacques Saada (Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec and Minister responsible for the Francophonie, Lib.)

Mr. Speaker, up until 1995, Canada Economic Development contributed substantially to the development of Shermag. However, as you know, the company is now over 2,000 employees strong and the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec does not target this type of company. We regret the job losses. We hope Shermag will be able to develop again in the future.

Hon. Jacques Saada (Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec and Minister responsible for the Francophonie, Lib.)

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased with the answers provided by the hon. member for Honoré-Mercier. If he had had more time, he could have added that I not only met with the mayor of Saguenay, but also with the economic stakeholders, as I did in each of the 14 regions of Quebec. The hon. member could also have pointed out that Canada Economic Development often serves as a channel for the involvement of many other federal departments, including Canadian Heritage, Transport, Industry and so on. He could have added that the offices of Canada Economic Development are not service points. They are proactive and they reach out to the community to solicit projects.

There is something that I do not really understand. The questions being asked by members opposite deal with Bill C-9, even though these members know full well that this is a purely technical bill. They are the ones who wanted to have a substantive debate. Canada Economic Development does achieve the work that is expected of this organization. In fact, it does so under the Constitution because, under the Constitution, we have a mandate to try to eliminate regional disparities.

The hon. member for Honoré-Mercier did an excellent job in the field. He came to us with projects that we were able to support in his region. The hon. member opposite will not admit it, but some projects were also supported in his region, without his involvement. He showed up for the photo ops when the Aluminium Technology Centre was announced, but he had nothing to do with it.

Making a few corrections and displaying a bit of intellectual honesty might be in order here.

Hon. Jacques Saada (Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec and Minister responsible for the Francophonie, Lib.)

Mr. Speaker, first, it would have been a surprise to see money being allocated in Bill C-9. This is not the purpose of this kind of legislation. Money is allocated through the budget, and let me remind you that, over the next five years, there is an increase, for Quebec alone, of 307 million dollars. I did say an increase of 307 million dollars. Regarding expenditures, to have an idea of the financial contribution of the Government of Canada in this respect, let us just say that we have a total budget equivalent to about $1 billion for the next three years. Obviously, the amounts are not specified in Bill C-9. They are in the budget bills. Bill C-9 defines the structure through which the money can be delivered.

Second, if I may, to answer my colleague from Lévis—Bellechasse, I announced that I would table a document of interest to him. But it is even better than what I promised. I said that the document would be about the region while in fact, it is about his own riding. Investments by my department, Canada Economic Development, between April 1, 2004 and January 15, 2005, in the Lévis—Bellechasse riding alone, amount to $3,196,350. I have here the list of supported projects, which represent globally an investment of $10,196,000 in the region. I would like to table this document officially.

Third, in doing so I would remind you that Canada Economic Development works with members of Parliament who are willing to cooperate, in spite of those who are not very helpful.