Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak to Bill C-39, the building Canada strong act.
We find ourselves living in an extraordinary time of global transformation. We are witnessing unprecedented shifts in global trade patterns, rapid advancements in technology and heightened geopolitical uncertainty. The agreed-upon ways of doing business are being challenged across the globe every single day. It is clear that, as the world changes rapidly around us, we must look to our own domestic strengths to ensure that our supply chains are resilient, our infrastructure is strong and our economy is built to last. We cannot afford to passively observe global trends. We must take a hard look at how we build, approve projects and connect our communities to the world. This legislation does exactly that and provides our local communities, industries and workers with the certainty and predictability they need.
This step forward is made possible by the coordinated leadership of our government leads on this bill. Under their direction, Bill C-39 builds directly upon the foundation laid out with the One Canadian Economy Act and the successes of the Major Projects Office. Our government's commitment is one project, one review, one year.
Islanders and Atlantic Canadians know the value of time. On P.E.I., our construction seasons are short. Our local businesses cannot always afford to feel trapped as they wait for a decision they fear may not come. Anyone who has spent a winter in Atlantic Canada knows that our window for breaking ground and completing major physical infrastructure projects is narrow. When a project decision is delayed by weeks or months, it means losing valuable productivity for communities. That kind of delay is costly and frustrating.
Investors need to know that when they commit capital to a major project, they will receive an answer in a timely fashion. If Canada is going to attract the investment needed to build energy projects, do modern manufacturing and expand transportation hubs, we must prove that we can be nimble. Bill C-39 establishes clear timelines for federal project decisions and adjusts regulator timelines to better suit these needs. It moves federal approval processes to a concurrent review system and away from the slower sequential format of the past. This bill removes departmental silos and ensures that multiple bodies are looking at the same project at the same time. In the riding of Cardigan, this means that updates to our critical infrastructure, such as our small craft harbours and our energy grid capacity and expansion, can move forward without undue delay, all while retaining our strong protections.
Accelerating our timelines does not mean compromising our values. This legislation explicitly ensures that we continue protecting our environment while safeguarding and respecting indigenous rights every step of the way. High administrative standards do not demand slow decisions. We have proven that environmental stewardship and economic momentum go hand in hand.
P.E.I. relies on our ability to move goods efficiently. From the quality P.E.I. potatoes grown by our farmers to the world-class seafood harvested by our fishers, P.E.I. is ready to feed the world, but a strong product is only as good as the trade corridor that carries it to market. If our regional transport networks are outdated, our local producers lose out on opportunities. For an island province, those connections are especially important. We have the Confederation Bridge that was built in 1997 as a vital economic link connecting Prince Edward Island to New Brunswick, the rest of Canada and the markets beyond. The same is true of the Wood Islands to Caribou ferry, which is in my riding of Cardigan. That crossing connects eastern Prince Edward Island directly with Nova Scotia and forms an important part of the transportation network that supports our communities, our tourism sector and the movement of goods throughout our region.
Our trade network does not end when goods leave Prince Edward Island. Atlantic Canada succeeds when the entire region is connected. Infrastructure in Halifax, including the grain handling and port facilities, helps connect Atlantic Canadian producers to international markets. If we are going to achieve a doubling of our exports to countries other than the U.S., we need this valuable infrastructure and these improvements to go ahead.
Our bridges, our ferries, our highways, our railways and our ports are all links in the supply chain. That is why strengthening Canada's trade corridors matters so much to Atlantic Canada. When one link in that chain is strengthened, our entire region becomes more competitive. When one link becomes a bottleneck, the effects can be felt by businesses and producers hundreds of kilometres away.
The building Canada strong act would modernize the governance of Canada's ports, its railways and its supply networks. This bill would help ensure that the hard work of Islanders and the hard work of Canadians can reach global markets reliably. We would strengthen our local economies by building a robust national network. When we fortify trade corridors across this country, we are building an economy where geographic isolation is no longer a barrier to success.
We cannot build a prosperous future using outdated processes. The tools of the past are not equipped to solve the problems of the future. This act would provide clarity, give our industries the modern trade corridors they require and give Canadians a strong, unified economy they could depend on. It represents a step towards a more competitive and resilient Canada and it tells Canadians that their federal government is focused on the everyday realities that keep Canada moving forward. For those reasons, I am supporting this bill.
