Thank you, Mr. Chair, and good afternoon. Cognizant of time, I'll keep my statements brief.
I appear before you today in support of the Bridge to Strengthen Trade Act. As you and the committee members are well aware, Mr. Chair, the main objective of this legislation is to ensure the successful and timely construction of the Detroit River International Crossing project, in that this legislation will allow us to bring certainty to the P3 market and to the private sector for the construction of this project through the terms that have been articulated.
This is the single most important project and it is an economic lifeline. As you heard earlier, 30% of all surface trade between Canada and the U.S. crosses through the Windsor-Detroit gateway. We are very proud to host and to be the gateway to Canada. Also, we're very understanding of the fact that these economic linkages extend far beyond the Windsor-Detroit corridor, reaching all the way from Montreal down to the I-75 backbone, with many, many jurisdictions, cities, and regions dependent on trade and the flow of trade.
Up to now, that trade has been carried on infrastructure built by our grandparents, so it's with a tremendous amount of support that our region and our community participated in a thorough and comprehensive environmental assessment process, undertaken by all levels of government on both sides of the border, for well over four years.
The majority of this region supported the announcement made by the Prime Minister when they entered into the signatory agreement with the State of Michigan and the governor. We are in support of this piece of legislation. We are in support of it because it provides the certainty required to complete this project and to get it built in a timely fashion. It provides for the certainty that is needed in the P3 market to ensure that we have a competitive process. It provides for the establishment of the authority to allow for the work to be done on the American side.
In closing, the most important thing we can do is ensure that the economic viability, those economic lifelines, and that economic artery continue to function and to function well, with modern infrastructure, so as to support the hundreds of thousands of jobs and the industries that are dependent on this piece of legislation and this piece of infrastructure.
Thank you for your time.