Madam Speaker, I appreciate the interest of the member opposite in this issue. The Government of Canada wants all sectors of our economy to prosper, and at the same time it must carry out its procurement activities in a manner that enhances access, competition, and fairness. To provide more opportunities for Canadian suppliers, Canada has negotiated access to foreign government procurement markets through international trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Trade agreements place the legal obligations for competition into a global environment, while greatly expanding the marketplace for Canadian goods and services and resulting in more opportunities for Canadian steel.
An open trade and investment environment allows firms to thrive and helps create better jobs for the middle class. This is particularly important for the Canadian steel industry, which is highly dependent on export markets and is part of an integrated North American market. Some 48% of Canadian steel shipments are exported, of which 81% go to the United States.
There are a number of ways the Government of Canada can favour Canadian industry. The Canadian content policy, for example, encourages industrial development in Canada by limiting procurement opportunities to suppliers of Canadian goods and services when there is sufficient competition. Sufficient competition is defined as at least two potential suppliers of Canadian goods or services. The Canadian content policy is applied to most publicly advertised, competitive procurements by the departments of Public Services and Procurement and National Defence valued at $25,000 or more.
To be considered Canadian, a good has to be wholly originated in Canada or, if it contains imported components, must have undergone a certain degree of transformation in Canada. A service is considered Canadian if it is provided by a company based in Canada.
Another procurement mechanism used to promote Canadian industry is the industrial technological benefits policy, managed by the department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development. This policy requires companies that are awarded defence and security contracts by the Government of Canada to undertake business activities in Canada valued at 100% of the contract award. Over the last three decades, the policy has been applied to 125 procurements and has led to $38 billion in obligations. These are just some of the ways that the Government of Canada seeks to maximize benefits for Canada in its procurements, and we are always looking for more.
My final point is that our government has an overarching strategy to spur economic growth across the country, and we believe strongly that the best way to foster future prosperity is by investing in the economy today.
The Alexandra Bridge project is covered by the Agreement on Internal Trade. The competitively tendered construction contract was awarded on August 1, 2016, to Stellaire Construction Inc. While the tender did not require that bidders provide Canadian steel, the specifications required that the steel quality meet the standards of the Canadian Standard Association, among others.
Public Services and Procurement Canada provides Infrastructure Canada, which leads the—