John-Paul Danko

“Mr. Speaker, like Quebeckers generally, I am a bit fed up with the centralist, exclusive vision of elite sports that Canada constantly displays. My colleague alluded to this in his speech when he said he was proud to see investments of $750 million. In the meantime, families, young people and seniors are not getting any help even though they need access to physical activity too. Where is the federal government when the time comes to build infrastructure like gyms, pools and arenas? The need in Abitibi—Témiscamingue is desperate. I want to point out that Rouyn‑Noranda was forced to build a pool with only six lanes and that a project in Témiscamingue was cut back to the bare bones, with an investment of $18.6 million. We could search in vain to find a cheaper project in Canada. That is the bare minimum. Still, the federal government is nowhere to be found. Why is this happening? Why is the government boasting about this economic statement? Why are members boasting about investing in sports when the government is nowhere to be found when regular folks need help?”