Transport Committee on Aug. 1st, 2025

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Clarke, ON]

You didn't answer my question. I'll give you the opportunity again to call unequivocally for the cancelling of the CIB loan.

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

I have been compared to a ship, so I'll use a transport metaphor. I'm here as Minister of Transport and Internal Trade. I'll stay in my lane and answer the questions about the areas that I have responsibility for.

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Clarke, ON]

One more time: You are a high-ranking minister, and you've been in politics, as you said, for 12 years. You were the deputy leader and finance minister during the time when the CIB operated and when mandates were created. Will you call today, as a member of the government, as a senior minister, for the cancelling of the CIB loan?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

I have long been an advocate for buying Canadian and reciprocal procurement. I pointed to a policy statement that I published as finance minister in 2023. I published a reciprocal procurement approach in the fall economic statement of 2023, the budget of 2023 and the 2021 budget. I've been working on this for a long time. It's important.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Thank you very much, Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Lawrence.

Mr. Lauzon, you have five minutes.

[Stéphane Lauzon, Liberal, Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to our witnesses for being here today.

Minister Freeland, you've often spoken of your support for steel, aluminum and softwood lumber workers, but you also said in your presentation that this support would be provided to the extent possible. I have a question about that.

When we talk about ferry transportation, the discussion primarily centres on British Columbia and the Atlantic provinces. In fact, Quebec also relies on ferries. Ferry services are extremely important and depend on Transport Canada. Can you tell us what support our government or your department can offer to Quebec ferries?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Thank you for your question.

As you know, we made an important announcement last Monday about federally supported ferry services, including the Magdalen Islands ferry. Starting today, passenger fares on those ferries will drop by 50%. This is good news for Magdalen Islanders, and I'm very pleased we did that.

[Stéphane Lauzon, Liberal, Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation, QC]

Thank you.

I really share your concerns about the contract awarded to a Chinese builder. I think we felt it. I'm a welder by trade and I feel like I represent Canadian workers in a way. The federal government has been an important partner of Quebec's shipbuilding industry, a sector that creates good jobs in skilled shipbuilding trades and other fields. At a time when our economy's steel, aluminum and softwood lumber industries are struggling, can you tell this committee how you intend to support shipbuilding and ship procurement in Quebec?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Thank you for your question.

We've already talked about the round table we're organizing. Davie shipyard will obviously be invited and will participate. It's very important to organize things so that we can build ships in Canada. It's also important that the marine, steel, aluminum and softwood lumber sectors work together. Canada's supply chains are undergoing major changes. We hear of changes in steel, aluminum and softwood lumber sector production. We have a duty to foster discussion among the manufacturing, steel, aluminum and softwood lumber sectors. At the same time, we also have to ensure that the money of Canadians and Quebeckers spent on federal as well as provincial procurement goes to support our industries. That is my job.

[Stéphane Lauzon, Liberal, Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation, QC]

Thank you.

You mentioned an upcoming meeting with unions representing steel and aluminum workers and industry representatives. You want to include the unions because they represent workers. What can we expect this meeting to achieve? Will it lead to recommendations? Are you going to discuss the kinds of situations we've just experienced to prevent them from happening again? What will result from that meeting?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

My hope is that we'll discuss specific topics, like ship procurement and ship-related needs in Canada. We're going to invite all public and private agencies that use ships and discuss their needs and what they need to procure. We'll talk with shipbuilders and ask them about their capacity to build ships in Canada.

[Stéphane Lauzon, Liberal, Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation, QC]

I assume that tariffs and their impact will also be discussed?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

That's right.

We're going to talk with people in the steel, aluminum and softwood lumber sectors and ask them whether they have the capacity to—

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Thank you very much, Minister and Mr. Lauzon.

Mr. Barsalou‑Duval, you have two and a half minutes.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Minister, I'm pleased you're here today, but I wanted to get some answers. Your government has created expectations. The Minister of Industry said that the government would prioritize Canadian steel and aluminum for its major contracts, large construction projects and large infrastructure projects. You wrote a letter saying that you didn't want federal money to be invested in this project, yet later on, $1 billion in federal funds were invested. I'm sure you can understand why people are disappointed. You said yourself that you were disappointed.

Your government has created expectations and hope, and rightly so, at a time when steel and aluminum are facing 50% tariffs. Steel workers where I'm from would like more work. Estimates put the amount at about 30,000 tonnes of steel. That's the equivalent of one week's output at the ArcelorMittal plant in Contrecoeur. Under current circumstances, a week's output is no small matter.

However, I get the impression that you're washing your hands of the matter. You say that you said what you needed to say at the time, I mean, that it's another department's responsibility, thank you very much, case closed. You didn't even answer my question: When did you know that this money had been allocated? Did you find out on June 16, June 20 or June 26? Did you know about it when you wrote your letter?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

I've been very clear, and I still am: I'm disappointed in this decision. I asked the deputy minister of transport if she was committing departmental funds. We understood that funding by the Department of Transport was used only to support travellers. It was very important to me to check that this was the case.

It's very important to me. I share your concern and I have—

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Can you at least confirm that, when you wrote your letter on June 16, you were unaware that federal money had been invested in this project?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

—responsibilities, and—

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

You can't even answer that.

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

—it's very important to me to ensure that the agencies under my control are going to prioritize Canadian workers in the steel, aluminum and softwood lumber sectors under their procurement contracts, and—

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Did you know on June 16 that there would be federal funds for that?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

—I want to assure you that we will do that.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Thank you very much, Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Barsalou‑Duval.

We go back to Mr. Lawrence.

Mr. Lawrence, the floor is, once again, yours. You have five minutes, sir.

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Clarke, ON]

I give my time to Mr. Albas.

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Okanagan Lake West—South Kelowna, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate that.

Minister, you mentioned your conversation with the president of Seaspan. In The Globe and Mail, he argued that it's tax policy and red tape that prevent him from being competitive in this space. If you're not willing to cancel this loan agreement, will you work instead to lower taxes to help make Seaspan competitive, so that it can actually compete in this space?