Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you so much, Minister, for taking the time to be here with us again today. I'm sure it's a very busy time for you, given that we just had the federal budget and, of course, there are just so many files that touch upon the rural economic development file.
I was very fortunate to sit on the House procedures committee with your predecessor, Bernadette, who of course went on to the cabinet in the Fisheries and Oceans capacity. There's indeed certainly quite a legacy to follow there.
I appreciate you taking the time to come here today and to answer the questions of the committee. We are several meetings into this study now after having completed previous studies, one which I believe touches upon this study—the Canada Infrastructure Bank study.
I guess my first question is just a result of some of the struggles and disappointments that we have seen, having undertaken that study in addition to this study. There certainly have been very interesting witnesses, but in some of the patterns we've seen in the discussion of infrastructure projects, for example, we see the reannouncing of the same funding over the past number of years, because it just takes so long to get any tangible action on an issue, for example. We've had conversations about that, and I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on it. We get concerned that a lot of the announcements in the budget are just a result of the pending election and not a sincere effort to address the concerns of communities.
As well, we've heard in testimony about a lot of problems in the coordination with other levels of government. In my position of shadow minister for transport, I certainly have seen this. For example, in a conversation I had with the Ontario transportation minister, Minister Mulroney, she indicated problems with some federal commitments being carried through after provincial commitments had been made, resulting in some holdups for infrastructure. We just think that it's very important to walk the talk when it comes to putting your money where your mouth is.
As well, we had concerns about private sector investment in Canadian projects. For example, your government of course was forced to purchase the Trans Mountain pipeline project when it was very difficult to secure private funding, if not impossible. We saw this again with Energy East and, of course, with the cancellation of the Kitimat pipeline project just a month ago. I also feel that the Teck project that never came to fruition was a result of the intended off-putting of your government in an effort to have it not result in a viable project.
We've also seen this with the A2A railway. I certainly hope that this won't be the case. Being a member of Parliament from Alberta, I do look forward to this as a potential throughway for our natural resources, since they have been stymied in so many other regards. That's very concerning for me.
Another piece related to your file is the sustainable internal trade plan for Canada. We've seen a lot of interprovincial trade barriers, and I think that as the official opposition we would really look forward to seeing them broken down, in an effort to really allow the economy to evolve internally and domestically in one piece. The hope is to restore investor confidence in Canada, which has been broken, I believe, as a result of the examples I gave previously.
I certainly imagine that this must be a lot for you to manage and oversee, given the breadth of your file, and especially given your role as Minister for Women and Gender Equality and that your government is so interested in protecting the chief of staff to the Prime Minister rather than the women and the men of the Canadian Armed Forces. Certainly, I know that in your role you will advocate for the Prime Minister's chief of staff to come forward to the defence committee and testify. I know your government certainly claims to stand up for women. I saw you in action at Women Deliver and how strong you were there. They must also take accountability for their failure to act on sexual misconduct allegations against General Vance three years ago.
With all of that, Minister, I would just ask and hope that your government will finally step forward and take action on these things I have brought forward to you today. I look forward to your addressing that.
Thank you.