Government Operations Committee on Feb. 10th, 2026

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

Thank you.

Mr. Gill.

[Harb Gill, Conservative, Windsor West, ON]

Thank you, sir.

Thank you to the witnesses for being here.

Minister, can you give us some concrete examples of what you have done to address the concerns you highlighted in your opening statement about our living in a dangerous world, which is true? Tell us about one project that has been started and that actually had a positive impact on Canadians outside of the Ottawa bubble.

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Louis-Hébert, QC]

I can do that very easily.

Budget 2025 has $5 billion in funding for our trade corridors to increase our capacity to diversify our markets and to export to new markets.

In that connection, shortly after the budget, I was in Saguenay to inaugurate the Saguenay port expansion project, where a second dock will increase capacity to handle goods from the region and even from much further afield. It will increase export capacity, competitiveness and productivity. That is why it's a boom for the region.

[Harb Gill, Conservative, Windsor West, ON]

Is this part of the current budget? Is this where it came from?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Louis-Hébert, QC]

Yes, 100%.

[Harb Gill, Conservative, Windsor West, ON]

It's from exactly this budget that you're bringing before us.

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Louis-Hébert, QC]

There's $5 billion for trade corridors. I don't have any announcements to make yet, but if I take the example of my region, I hope that one day the Port of Quebec will benefit from this the same way as many other port and airport infrastructures across the country. This may also be the case in your part of the country. That's a very concrete example.

[Harb Gill, Conservative, Windsor West, ON]

I haven't seen anything. In fact, the Gordie Howe bridge is in my jurisdiction and is currently being threatened by the President of the U.S. I'm not sure what your government is going to do about this, but I'm very disappointed in your lack of negotiations to open that bridge. It's been delayed and delayed.

When is that delay going to end? When is that bridge going to open?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Louis-Hébert, QC]

Regarding this bridge, I understand that the Prime Minister had a conversation with the president this morning and that the problem will be resolved as quickly as possible, given that the climate right now can be challenging, as you know.

[Harb Gill, Conservative, Windsor West, ON]

Minister, conversations are not enough. People in Windsor are looking for a date. They want toll rates. When is all that going to be published? I've reached out to your department and to the transportation sector, and nobody has responded to my emails about those questions. I'm sorry that I'm getting loud here, but these are frustrating things for the people of Windsor. They're not getting the answers they deserve.

Why is there a delay? Last year we were told that the bridge was going to open in the fall of 2025, and now it's early 2026. Yesterday, we heard the comments made by the U.S. President that he's not going to allow it to open. Now you're telling me that the Prime Minister had a conversation.

Give us some concrete timelines as to when this bridge is going to open. I'm sorry, but conversations are not enough.

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Louis-Hébert, QC]

Shouting during a committee meeting is not enough either, Mr. Gill.

[Harb Gill, Conservative, Windsor West, ON]

I'm sorry.

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Louis-Hébert, QC]

Good for you, but this is not a matter for my department. It falls under the Minister of Housing and Infrastructure. I'm sure he would be happy to talk to you so that you have all the information you need to keep the people in your riding up to date.

[Harb Gill, Conservative, Windsor West, ON]

He hasn't so far.

I'm sorry; I didn't mean to yell at you, sir. My apologies on that part, but, as you can imagine, the people of Windsor are very frustrated. They have been told that this bridge is coming and that it's going to open soon. I'm sure part of this procurement process is under your purview. There has to be some sort of answer that I can bring to the people of Windsor from you and your government to say the exact timeline that we are seeing and that this is when the bridge is going to open.

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Louis-Hébert, QC]

Thank you for your question. I understand the frustration when projects take longer than expected. It happens. Infrastructure projects take longer than expected. I would like to answer your question, but I don't have the information, as this matter is outside my department's portfolio. It falls under the Minister of Housing and Infrastructure, and I would be happy to put you in touch with him.

To get back to your first question about direct impacts, I can also tell you about the runway in Îles-de-la-Madeleine, which was announced in the budget.

Furthermore, if I may turn back to the $5 billion invested in trade corridors, you can talk to any port authority in the country and they will tell you that there is a pressing need for infrastructure, especially since we are seeking to diversify our markets at an unprecedented rate. I think Canadians understand that the context warrants that.

[Harb Gill, Conservative, Windsor West, ON]

I understand. That's why I brought it up, because you mentioned the infrastructure project that you have initiated and completed. This project in my city is not being completed, and that's why I brought it up to you, not for any other reason.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

That's your time, basically.

[Harb Gill, Conservative, Windsor West, ON]

All right, sir. Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

Thanks.

Ms. Sudds, go ahead, please.

[Jenna Sudds, Liberal, Kanata, ON]

Thank you very much, Chair.

Thank you, Minister and team, for being with us here today.

First, I'd like to pick up on the line of questioning from MP Jansen. At that point, we were talking about what she referred to as “fancy exemptions” in respect to Canada Post, and she was asking whether there were any other “fancy exemptions” within Bill C-15 that would help small and medium-sized businesses.

You know, in my riding, businesses are talking about a lot of the supports that are in the budget that will help them, whether it's the small and medium-sized office of procurement that is going to be set up under the buy Canadian policy, whether it's improving and speeding up the SR and ED credits, or whether it's the productivity superdeduction.

I'm wondering, Minister, if you could speak to some of the examples that you've seen in the budget, similar to the efforts that we're making with Canada Post, that will help small and medium-sized businesses.

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Louis-Hébert, QC]

Thank you very much for the question, Ms. Sudds, because you have reminded me of something that I forgot to mention in my answer earlier.

It's true that the “buy Canadian” policy announced to overhaul our procurement approach and prioritize Canadian companies and Canadian content has one important component, and that's the program funded in the budget to strengthen SME access to federal procurement. I think that is very important. Sometimes, doing business with the Government of Canada can seem complex. We want to simplify the process. We want to give more contracts to SMEs and ensure that the various departments and Crown corporations buy goods from our SMEs. Often, a Government of Canada contract is the best calling card a company can have if it wants to export internationally. I'm very happy about that. That will start this spring. It's funded in the budget.

You also talked about scientific research and experimental development tax credits. There's one thing I hear from many entrepreneurs around me, and I'm sure you hear it too, because your riding has many innovative businesses. These entrepreneurs tell me that the process lacks predictability and needs to be reviewed. They want to know how much they can invest and how much they can receive. They want that certainty up front. That is what Budget 2025 does. It provides approval for investment up front, rather than companies receiving it ex post facto, or retroactively. That's in addition to the enhanced 35% tax credit.

I would like to mention one last thing. Many entrepreneurs have also told me that they were eagerly awaiting the 100% accelerated first-year writeoff. I can give you proof of that. While preparing for this appearance, I went back and looked at the feedback we got after the budget. For example, I will quote Julie White from Manufacturiers et exportateurs du Québec:

We are pleased to see that the manufacturing sector has an important place in this budget. We sense the government's willingness to promote our businesses, which are critical to our economy and national security. The measures announced in this budget have addressed a number of our members' priorities, including access to government procurement and investment in innovation.

You mentioned access to government contracts.

Those remarks were made by Julie White, from Manufacturiers et exportateurs du Québec, but I could give you many other positive quotes from entrepreneurs, who are the backbone of our economy and at the forefront of innovation in Canada.

[Jenna Sudds, Liberal, Kanata, ON]

Absolutely. Thank you, Minister.

I can certainly attest that those items are landing well. People and businesses in my riding are excited to see these efforts move forward. They look forward to seeing the budget passed, for sure.

Switching gears slightly, as we were focusing on Canada Post and the streamlining of the rate-setting process, can you speak to what the impact of these changes is expected to be on Canada Post's fiscal outlook?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Louis-Hébert, QC]

Certainly. It will allow Canada Post to have more predictability in terms of revenue and to track inflation and its delivery costs in a much more timely manner than in the past, which is why it was put forward. When you read the Kaplan report, it's clear that the cumbersome process that was in place before our proposed changes did not allow Canada Post to have that predictability or to follow what comparable companies in other jurisdictions are doing with regard to stamp prices.

[Tamara Jansen, Conservative, Cloverdale—Langley City, BC]

Mr. Chair, can I correct the record?

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

Briefly, sure. What's up?