Mr. Speaker, on February 15, at a luncheon organized by the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, the President and CEO of the Port of Montreal provided an outlook on the global maritime industry. The future looks promising with sustained growth in container shipping and, given its geographic location, the Port of Montreal will reap the benefits.
The Port of Montreal will outgrow its current capacity by 2015, and Contrecoeur, in the riding of Verchères—Les Patriotes, was chosen as the expansion site. I, along with the eastern Montérégie CRE and officials from the RCM of Marguerite-D'Youville, was pleased with this announcement, as the decision will have major economic spinoffs for our region and for Quebec.
Given that the Port of Montreal is a true gateway to North America, we hope that the federal government will support this project, which will revitalize the economy and create wealth, notably through the gateways and border crossings fund, of which Quebec is still not receiving its fair share.