Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join the debate today on Bill C‑5, the one Canadian economy act. This bill will enable us to remove federal barriers to the internal flow of goods and services and to labour mobility, while continuing to protect the health, safety and security of Canadians, their social and economic well-being and the environment. It will also help advance nation-building projects to produce and connect energy, goods and services across Canada's vast land mass and in global markets. This bill will help Canada become the strongest economy in the G7 and a global energy superpower.

To my mind, what defines an exceptional leader is first and foremost their ability to turn every crisis into an opportunity. With Bill C‑5, our Prime Minister is showing that he is of the same calibre as the people who built our country. The bill before us lays the foundation for our government's strategy, not only to address the threats posed by our neighbour to the south, but also to lead the way in building the Canadian economy of the future. That is why I will be supporting this bill.

No one in Canada wanted a trade war with the Americans, but that is where we are right now. Fortunately, with this bill, our government is demonstrating that it can turn this crisis into an opportunity. The people of Beauport—Limoilou and people across Canada expect their government to take swift and ambitious action to address the threats we are facing. No one has ever won a war, trade or otherwise, by improvising. What this bill proposes is a return to boldness.

Over the decades, we have come to believe that we have to make choices when it comes to our economic development and major projects. We could build well or build quickly. Over time, we have unfortunately sacrificed our efficiency and our boldness. It is important not to place all the blame on the current crisis or on the policies of our neighbour to the south. Canada built great things in the past, but it seems as though we have forgotten how to do so in recent decades.

In the United States, thinker Ezra Klein has just published Abundance, a book that is making waves and that offers solutions to help nations learn how to build effectively again. Across much of the western world, projects that took a few months to put together some decades ago are now taking years to get off the ground. In Canada, we can no longer afford to be overly cautious in the face of Trump's threats. I am proud that our government is taking action by proposing such a paradigm shift. This is a shift in mindset that goes far beyond partisan lines.

More than 60 years ago, we built the St. Lawrence Seaway in just a few years. It was a huge public infrastructure project that required an investment that only the Government of Canada could make. The St. Lawrence Seaway was not an expense; it was an investment. To this day, dozens of ships bound for or departing from the Great Lakes, Chicago, Detroit, Toronto or Montreal pass my riding every week. Over the decades, they have created so much wealth that the initial cost of the St. Lawrence Seaway now seems like a pittance in comparison. This is exactly the kind of major project that Bill C‑5 seeks to encourage. In response to Trump's threats, we will create economic activity by investing in projects like the St. Lawrence Seaway. We will create infrastructure that requires such significant investment that government commitment is virtually essential to its construction. What is more, this infrastructure will provide future generations with a stronger and more resilient economy.

The list of projects may be short, but the projects in question will be anything but minor. These will be projects that have the potential to truly redefine our nation's economic future in a lasting way. A trade war is a major threat to any economy but, on top of that, the current tariffs are hitting us at a time when the Canadian economy is fragile.

That is what the bill's second part, which is inseparable from building major projects, is going to address. It deals with removing trade barriers between provinces. Reducing interprovincial trade barriers and creating one economy out of 13 will have a significant impact on something that experts and economists are deeply concerned about: Canadian productivity.

That is why I will be supporting this bill. In 2022, Canadians produced 71% of what Americans did per hour. That productivity gap has widening for decades. It was an issue before the pandemic and Donald Trump's return. Now, I think it is a genuine national emergency. I will support this bill because it is a step in the right direction to address our major productivity problem. By removing interprovincial trade barriers, the bill will increase Canadian productivity by 7%. As I said earlier, by encouraging interprovincial trade, this bill is a key tool for fighting the President's tariffs, as well as creating a stronger and more resilient economy.

This bill is at the heart of what our Prime Minister promised Canadians during the election. We are walking the talk, as they say. We promised to find the opportunities hidden in the current crisis, and with this bill, the Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade, Intergovernmental Affairs and One Canadian Economy is giving us the tools to find the gold nuggets hidden in the mud of the trade war with the U.S. Those nuggets will make our economy stronger for future generations.

I also want to take this opportunity to highlight the exceptional work the Prime Minister is currently doing with provincial premiers and indigenous leaders. The government does not want to waste any time, but that does not mean it is willing to forego co-operation with the provinces and first peoples. Together, we will build the Canada of tomorrow. Together, we will build a stronger Canada.

Steeve Lavoie

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