Madam Speaker, before I begin my speech, I would like to talk about an amazing event that took place in my riding, Bourassa. I am talking about the ninth edition of the Festival des boulettes, the meatball festival.

Everyone thinks that their mother, grandmother or family had the best recipe. People from many different backgrounds took part in this event. There were folks from Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Portugal, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. Each participant rightly believed that their recipe was the best. A culinary program was organized by Les Fourchettes de l'espoir and the borough of Montreal North. It was a wonderful opportunity for people to come together and enjoy each other's company and conversation. I would like to thank the three women who are behind this initiative: Chantal Rossi, a municipal councillor from Montreal North; Brunilda Reyes, the director of Les Fourchettes de l'espoir; and our dear Sister Angèle, who has been the driving force behind this community-building project for many years. The most recent edition, which took place on Saturday, was won by a group from Bangladesh. I congratulate all the participants.

With regard to the bill, I will explain something very important when it comes to international competition. When a country wants to build a strong economy, it is very important that decisions are made neither too hastily, nor too slowly. Decisions do have to be made, especially in an international situation full of uncertainty and competition.

The opposition members are giving examples of a number of countries, including Japan, Qatar and many others, that have sped up their decision-making processes. The bill's main purpose is to speed up the decision-making process. As legislators and MPs, we were elected above all to defend the interests of Canadians. We are not here to defend projects that even the official opposition considers to be obsolete. Just last week, the Bloc Québécois was talking about obsolete projects that are delaying economic development.

We are proposing an ambitious, measurable project for which Canadians gave us a clear mandate. This project would make it easier to bring in many domestic and international investors. Now they are saying we are not being ambitious enough and that this bill reverses decisions made in the past. However, sometimes it is a good idea to reverse some of those decisions, because laws have been passed that can harm our economy and impede investment. What we are trying to do with this bill is simplify the decision-making process.

My riding is in Quebec, and I can tell the House what Quebeckers told me when I went door to door. Right now, Quebeckers are telling us that, with all the international competition, we need a strong, much more efficient economy. Decisions need to be made more quickly. Our political commitment as Canada's federal Liberal government is “one project, one review”. That is very important. Sometimes it takes public servants a long time to complete administrative reviews, and that is costing us opportunities. We are in an international environment where quick decision-making can be very important, especially in the current economic context, in which it is absolutely necessary.

I am therefore calling on the opposition to collaborate and ask us questions, but they cannot tell us that we are not ambitious and that this bill lacks clarity. On the contrary, we are proposing something exciting. Let us stop talking about the past and former bills. Let us talk about the future and let us talk about the current context.

Canadians were smart to choose an ambitious and bold government and leader. I am asking members of the other parties to be just as bold. I am asking them to work with us. At some point, it is time to respect the choice Canadians made and work with those who were chosen. I am asking members to collaborate with us and give us their opinion. Let us work in the interest of investors and let us work together to build one strong Canadian economy.

Abdelhaq Sari

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