Thank you, Madam Chair.
Welcome to the minister this morning.
Minister, our government has spoken extensively about improving productivity, strengthening the trade corridors and building the infrastructure needed to support long-term economic growth. I'm not going to be talking down Atlantic Canada investment this morning. I'm going to be promoting it. That may not surprise you.
I'll tell you that I'm in my riding, in Cardigan, P.E.I., this morning. I'm attending a rural development conference with our Secretary of State for Rural Development, Buckley Belanger. As we travel around the district, we are getting a lot of excitement from our fishers and our small business people with the commitment of almost a billion dollars announced for small craft harbours in Atlantic Canada and throughout Canada for all our coastal communities.
Another critical piece of infrastructure here in P.E.I. is our ferry service between Wood Islands and Caribou, which you would be aware of. That ferry service brings about a million visitors to P.E.I. every year. In budget 2025, the Prime Minister lowered the fares on those ferries. With that measure, in 2025 alone, we had an increase of 100,000 visitors using the ferry service.
Going forward, my question for you is this: As Canada advances its nation-building agenda and we seek to improve productivity, what's the government's view of regional transportation links like the Wood Islands ferry service, small craft harbours, marine infrastructure and everything that gives us opportunities in rural coastal communities to contribute to the growth of Canada?