Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I must say, Mr. Speaker, that is based on very, very unsound presumptions. That is saying that the northern contractors arbitrarily increase their bidding by 20 percent just to inflate the cost. What the Minister is saying is really troubling, Mr. Speaker.
The Minister has already said that for years now, we have not been getting bids from southern Canada. Maybe it has nothing to do with BIP. It has to do with the fact that Alberta, BC and everybody is in full economy -- full, booming economy. Why should Northerners not take advantage of that? Does he understand the unsoundness of his argument, Mr. Speaker?