Madam Speaker, I had asked in the House why only 19% of the steel used in the new Champlain Bridge will be made in Canada. This is one of the largest federal infrastructure projects. I also asked whether Canadian or offshore steel would be used in several other infrastructure projects: the Alexandra Bridge, the Alaska Highway, and the Esquimalt Graving Dock. We have not heard an answer to those questions, but I am hoping the parliamentary secretary will be able to speak to the use of Canadian steel in those projects this evening.
It is very strange that the Government of Canada is importing steel while Canadian steel mills are laying off workers. I would consider why the Government of Canada might be doing that. One possibility is that it is cheaper to buy the steel from abroad. However, the rationale for these infrastructure projects is not simply to build the infrastructure at the lowest cost but to boost economic growth and to create jobs in Canada. The government itself has made that argument. If that is the goal, then clearly the government should be trying to procure the inputs from the Canadian economy. Doing so would generate more tax revenue in our country, which could certainly offset any higher cost of the steel.
The second reason we might be procuring steel from offshore for public infrastructure could be as a result of some sort of reciprocity; we want our steel mills to be able to sell Canadian steel for public infrastructure in other countries. While our biggest trading relationship is with the United States, we have relatively balanced trade in steel with the U.S. If the U.S. were to grant a Canadian exemption from buy-American policies, then it would make sense for us to also consider American steel in Canadian public infrastructure projects. However, there is no reciprocity in Canada's steel trade with the rest of the world. We export only about $1 billion a year of steel offshore, yet we import more than $4 billion of steel per year from offshore. There simply is no reciprocity to be achieved there.
I have mostly talked about steel procurement in economic terms, but we also need to consider some important environmental arguments. Steel is very heavy. It takes a lot of energy to transport it. The carbon emissions are much less if we are able to use Canadian-made steel rather than having it shipped from overseas. Similarly, it emits a lot less carbon to produce the steel in Canada, because our country has a much cleaner energy mix and also has much stronger environmental regulations. Producing a tonne of steel in China emits about 14 times more carbon than producing a tonne of steel in Canada.
If we are concerned about economic development in our country, if we are concerned about our environment, we should be using Canadian-made steel in federal infrastructure projects.