Transport Committee on March 21st, 2024

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Minister, you're really on the hot seat today.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Yes, and I like it.

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

We have a great deal to complain about.

A few moments ago, I mentioned the Quebec City bridge, for which we've been awaiting a resolution for 7 years, 8 months and 21 days. You've promised us year after year that the matter would be resolved.

There's another unresolved issue in the Quebec City region concerning the shipyard in Lévis, in my riding. The good news is that the shipyard has been included in the national shipbuilding strategy. Everyone was delighted with the announcement that was made a year ago.

However, in the past year, we've heard no news about that contract, which is supposed to be signed with the Government of Canada. We're anticipating contracts worth $8.5 billion, thanks to which 1,800 jobs could be created, an enormous number for the Quebec City region and obviously for the riding I represent. One thousand suppliers across Quebec are associated with the shipyard and are waiting. So this concerns the entire shipbuilding ecosystem, not just the marine contractor in Lévis. It's been a year since it was announced that the national shipbuilding strategy would include Davie shipyard in Lévis.

Will this matter be mismanaged as badly as the Quebec City bridge file, Minister?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Thank you for outlining all the benefits that Davie shipyard will enjoy. The Liberal government included it in the shipbuilding strategy. It had been entirely excluded by the previous Conservative government.

All the—

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

I'll give you the credit, Minister. Would you please answer my question? When will Davie receive a response concerning the anticipated $8.5 billion? Mothers and fathers who work there, as well as 1,000 Quebec businesses, are waiting for these contracts.

[Angelo Iacono, Liberal, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

On a point of order, Mr. Chair.

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Give me a date, Minister.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Minister and Mrs. Vien, I'm going to stop the clock to give Mr. Iacono a chance to raise his point of order.

Go ahead, Mr. Iacono.

[Angelo Iacono, Liberal, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I realize these are very emotional subjects, but we should not forget that the interpretation doesn't work properly when we all speak at the same time.

We have to give the minister time to answer our questions, even if we don't agree with him.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Thank you, Mr. Iacono.

Honourable members, I would ask you to please pay attention. Our interpreters do an outstanding job and we need to show them our respect.

Thank you very much.

Mrs. Vien, I'm going to restart the clock. You have two minutes left.

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Mr. Chair, this is a major issue for the Quebec City region, for Lévis, Bellechasse and Les Etchemins. We are anticipating $8.5 billion.

The shipyard was included in the shipbuilding strategy last year. On what date will it be announced that the matter has been resolved, that the contracts are to be let, that the men and women can be hired and start working at the shipyard and that 1,000 suppliers to the shipyard can begin doing business with the builder?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

I'm not sure it's a good idea for you to raise that question. You know very well, or perhaps you've forgotten, that the Conservative government excluded Davie shipyard by giving everything to other shipyards.

Now there's going to be employment. Two ferries are there, and they play a fundamental role. There will be thousands of jobs, a lot of projects and a considerable amount of investment. We're pleased. On this, we agree with you, Mrs. Vien, that this shipyard plays a fundamental role. That's why we included it in the national shipbuilding strategy and why we're funding the ferries.

There's also preliminary work to be done to upgrade the shipyard, and we're in the process of doing that. We're committed to building ferries there; that will be good for you, for the people there, and even for businesses across Quebec.

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

I don't mean to interrupt, Minister. I want to be very respectful of our interpreters.

When will the contracts be announced? Give me a date. That's the question I'm asking you. It's so simple.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

It's been announced.

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Give me the date when we'll get the contracts. We haven't had contracts for a year.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Davie shipyard is part of the national shipbuilding strategy thanks to the Liberal government. We've announced that it will have the contract for two ferries. It's been announced.

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

You're the Quebec lieutenant; you should have that information.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

The Conservative government completely forgot Davie shipyard. Everybody knows that. We don't need to announce it.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Thank you very much, Minister.

Finally for today, we have Mr. Badawey.

Mr. Badawey, the floor is yours for four minutes, please.

[Vance Badawey, Liberal, Niagara Centre, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Minister, you were invited to this committee to speak about investing in roads. With that, I have a pointed question: Is the federal government investing in roads, and will it continue to invest in roads?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Absolutely, 100%, yes.

[Vance Badawey, Liberal, Niagara Centre, ON]

Of course, this is part, as you mentioned earlier.... You were bang on with respect to the first part of your answers to questions about supply chains and multimodal networks. I don't want to be repetitive in that regard. However, the attachment to road investments obviously touches many ministries: public safety, environment, tourism, infrastructure. I do know first-hand how hard you're working with those other ministers to ensure that those networks are very robust.

I want to focus on the economy.

As you know, I just got back from Washington with a member of the Conservative Party, as well as a member of the NDP. Together, we had some very good discussions with members of Congress, both on the House side and the Senate side, about integrating supply chains and, with regard to your earlier comments, how important that is domestically.

However, in our travels to Washington, and we recognized that economic leaders from both countries are in fact prioritizing proximity-based hubs that concentrate production facilities and sales within the same region to streamline logistics, as well as to improve inventory management and accelerate response to market demand, which is what I want to zero in on.

With that said, how important is it to you and to the ministry to participate domestically and—equally as important—binationally in capital investments to ensure that transportation capacity needed within these proximity-based hubs is robust, as well as to add to the overall supply chains to ensure binational fluidity, strengthening our binational economic relationship?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

It's very important.

I want to thank you, Mr. Badawey, for those important meetings that you had in Washington. I also want to thank your colleagues from the opposition, because they can go there and have great meetings and share their ideas, and together we can do better for our country.

To be honest, I'm here purely for political reasons. I don't actually know why I'm here, because it would have been easy to ask me for a full list of projects, and I would have given it to them. It's free. I still can give it to them if they ask, but they're not asking for that.

Anyway, what you guys are doing on those trips to the States and the financing that we're doing in those regional hubs and the strategic investments that we are doing are fundamental for our economy.

You know, Mr. Badawey—because you and I had the chance to discuss the trade corridors—how much we have to be present there to make sure that they're not pieces here and there but that they're more fluid, more robust and more resilient to climate change. I think the work of the government through the NTCF and through other departments, as you mentioned, is absolutely crucial.

[Vance Badawey, Liberal, Niagara Centre, ON]

Thank you, Minister.

I do recognize the work that you're doing and that the department is doing, particularly in my own area. I know how beneficial the NTCF has been in investing in the Great Lakes, the Welland Canal and the different ports across the country.

My last question is about the importance of that. With digital and data and the managing of the assets—because some of them are aging, whether it be the port of Montreal, the port of Vancouver, or those ports within the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Great Lakes region—how important is it to ensure that we're helping them attach to that multimodal network and manage their assets, which sometimes are aging?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

It is fundamental. We are making strategic investments in some of those assets. Thanks to the NTCF, we have been able to invest in some of those projects and some of those assets.

The whole system cannot work if one of its parts is broken or lacks financing. That's why we're so present with the NTCF, which you know probably better than I do, because you've been sitting at this committee since day one. I want to thank you for sharing some of that knowledge and experience with me, because I became a bit better because of that. Thank you.