Bill C-39 Committee on Oct. 19th, 2026

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

As I indicated to our colleague Mr. Gourde, I can't exclude the possibility that it will have no incidence on the development of high-speed rail in Canada. In fact, it will benefit from the same one-year timeline that any other major investment or job-creating project would.

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Clarke, ON]

Then will you be moving up the completion date?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

In Bill C-15—and this is where I think Mr. Gourde maybe became a bit confused—we have already designed a specific, bespoke land acquisition mechanism for developing high-speed rail. That has already been developed. We've reduced the planning and development time of that project from eight years to four, which is a considerable increase in efficiency for that project. Every year that we are able to shave off the planning process saves Canadians billions of dollars.

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Clarke, ON]

Thank you, Minister.

As my colleague from the Bloc said, there is a provision here that allows work to begin on a major project before the decision is final. Will you be using that in the Alto project?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

We have an early works provision there, yes. It would be minor work—utility poles and that type of thing—that would be able to be used in the case of Alto.

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Clarke, ON]

That is a yes, then. You will be using it for the Alto project.

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

No, no. I did not say that. I said it could be.

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Clarke, ON]

Then you're unwilling to commit either way on whether you'll be utilizing the early works clause.

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

In the case of land that would have been acquired, for example, from a willing seller with a willing buyer before final environmental approval was given, if early works are permitted—and that would be literally moving a utility pole or a fence or something like that—that's the kind of—

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Clarke, ON]

That sounds like a yes. Is that a yes?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

It's the kind of minor work.... Yes, it's possible.

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Clarke, ON]

Yes, it's possible. Talk about equivocating.

Dom, you still need to give a lot more lessons to Minister MacKinnon.

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

I was just rebuked by Dominic for being too....

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Clarke, ON]

That was just a comment on my Bloc colleague.

While the Conservatives are willing to work with anyone who's willing to make life better for Canadians, we still have significant challenges with this legislation. I would like to move to a deeper discussion of the Alto project, specifically, if I can, in my riding.

Via Rail 641 was recently cancelled. It was a commuter train that allowed people from my community to get to Toronto at a regular hour. That was recently cancelled. It might save thousands or millions. I don't know. At the same time, your government is looking to spend, according to the PBO, $113 billion on this.

How do you square that circle, Minister?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

Via Rail service suffers from a number of obstacles that have been discussed many times. I won't go over them again.

Via shares a track with freight, and I have asked Via, in response to your concerns, my own colleagues' concerns and those of others.... We need to make that service more efficient, more fluid and more reliable for your constituents. That is our great hope, and I have directed the management of Via Rail, which is an independent Crown corporation that makes operational decisions and is entitled to do that, to improve its customer service, reliability and on-time performance and make sure that your constituents, my constituents and others are better served by Via Rail.

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Clarke, ON]

I have two quick things. Firstly, would you be willing to direct them to return a commuter train for my constituents specifically, as well as Ms. Harrison's, so that the folks who want to go from our communities to Toronto at a reasonable hour can do so?

Secondly, would you be willing to table that directive?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

Again, the Minister of Transport does not get in the middle of operational decisions made by Via Rail, particularly those that they rationalize based on improving the very things I've asked them to improve, which are on-time performance, reliability and better service for Canadians.

I am, quite obviously, pleased to facilitate interactions between you and Via Rail management, so that the case for your constituents may be made by you or other advocates for that service, but we are determined that the corridor, which your riding is very much a part of, should be better served and served more reliably, more efficiently and more effectively by Via Rail.

We are interested in increasing ridership, Mr. Lawrence, not decreasing it.

[The Chair, Liberal, James Maloney]

Thank you, Mr. Lawrence.

Thank you, Minister.

Ms. Desrochers, it's over to you for five minutes.

[Caroline Desrochers, Liberal, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Since we're talking about the Alto project, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you, Mr. MacKinnon, for all your work to keep this project on track. My constituents in Trois‑Rivières are very much looking forward to taking the high-speed rail, and so am I, for that matter.

My colleague Emma Harrison asked an interesting question earlier. You mentioned the agricultural sector, but can you tell us a bit more? We're now in 2026. Let us imagine we're five years down the road. The bill will have been passed, and projects will be under way. Which sector of the Canadian economy will benefit the most from the changes we want to implement?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

I think the big winners will be our young people, because we will have created more job opportunities, a more prosperous future and an investment climate that's conducive to projects that will help our young people access jobs and world-class opportunities, whether they live in Trois-Rivières, Gatineau or Mr. Lawrence's riding. We will have a cohort of young people who can pitch in to create and design major projects.

I'll give you a few examples.

Nouveau Monde Graphite is a critical minerals company in Quebec. There are talks of a world-class open-pit mine that enables Canada to position itself at the forefront of that sector. Young people in your riding will be able to get involved not only in mining, but also in marketing, analysis, science, applications and the added value of those minerals. The creation of the Major Projects Office and the regulatory process that stems from Bill C‑5 and Bill C‑39 will have helped accelerate the creation of those job opportunities.

Second, I think we will have generally improved our capacity to trade and have trade relationships with the rest of the world. Whether in Contrecoeur, at the port of Trois-Rivières or on the west coast, we will have improved our capacity for trade, as well as the fluidity and stability of the supply chains that connect us from east to west.

[Caroline Desrochers, Liberal, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Thank you. That brings me to my question for Minister LeBlanc about internal trade.

We focused on the Canadian economy. We want to reduce barriers to promote trade between provinces, in addition to diversifying our trade with our international partners.

How will the projects we are going to put forward help us facilitate trade between the provinces and territories?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Beauséjour, NB]

Thank you for the question.

I am very encouraged by the provinces' willingness to work toward reducing the barriers you mentioned. Whether it's Quebec, British Columbia or Saskatchewan—I met with Saskatchewan's trade minister today—everyone is trying to figure out how we can develop this together while respecting factors as important as protecting the French language. Respect for the French language in Quebec isn't a barrier, but rather an exception to the free market. I'm very encouraged by the fact that other provinces, whether in western Canada or the Maritimes, want to work toward reducing these barriers while respecting, for example, the protection of the French language in your province.

Some provinces are looking for projects that will boost their economies. Obviously, as Mr. MacKinnon said, if a mining project is developed in New Brunswick—and there are some rather interesting examples of projects that Premier Holt is trying to move forward—it will benefit trades workers in Nova Scotia and Quebec. It will attract contractors from across Canada.

So this is very much in line with the process of having a unified Canadian economy, and everyone sees themselves as part of that. That's what I'm very encouraged about. Both the larger and smaller provinces see themselves as part of this effort, and they encourage each other. That's what I find truly encouraging.

[Caroline Desrochers, Liberal, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, James Maloney]

Mr. Albas, it's back to you.

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Okanagan Lake West—South Kelowna, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I'll go to Minister MacKinnon.

Minister, Conservatives want our ports, railways, rail yards and roads built to expand our trade beyond the United States. However, to get those investment decisions here in Canada, you are offering only a cabinet directive—a one-year expectation that can change at any time.

In part 1, you have a bill that says that in law, thou must have a one-year timeline, when that clock starts, after the Groundhog Day clause, but in this, you don't have the same statutory requirements of part 2, which is totally inconsistent. Why not give transportation approvals under part 2 the same statutory certainty? Why are you making it so transportation isn't a priority?