Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the parliamentary secretary's work on this file.
I stand to be corrected, but I am almost 100% sure that the number comes from a recently completed Michigan department of transportation study. Another study was done by the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. If memory serves me correctly, it projected a $6 billion to $8 billion loss because of the trade impediments along the corridor. It almost does not matter whether it is between those two figures or off by a little, it is still more annually than it would be to fix the problem with the consensus presented by the city and the county. Every year there will be a greater loss than the cost to improve the corridor.
It is important to note as well that infrastructure improvements are not a net loss for the country. Infrastructure improvements pay a dividend, not only in terms of shortening the time of business travel and economic prosperity and savings in health costs related to air pollution, but the improvements create jobs and employment. People and companies pay taxes, all those things.
The solutions we are seeking on the border are ones that pay dividends for the rest of the country. It is not a net loss.