Madam Speaker, it is an honour for me to be back in the House speaking to Canadians, especially Canadians in Mégantic—L'Érable, during this very difficult time.
Members of Parliament are always proud to represent and speak on behalf of our constituents, especially on a day like today when the topic is one that unites us all: our most important trade relationship with our biggest trading partner, the United States.
Anyone living in Thetford Mines, in Lac-Mégantic, in Plessisville or around Beauce does not have to look far to find a business that depends on that trade relationship with the United States, be it in metals processing, plastics, wood or aluminum. Businesses in Mégantic—L'Érable, businesses in Beauce, businesses in central Quebec and businesses in the Eastern Townships depend in large part on our wonderful long-standing relationship with our neighbours to the south, a relationship that has become even more expansive since the advent of free trade agreements.
Canada is the United States' largest customer. This works both ways; it is not a one-way street. It is not only we who need the United States, but the United States needs us too. Canada buys more American goods than China, Japan and the United Kingdom combined. Canada is the top trading partner in most U.S. states, more than 30 states. Canadian companies operating in the United States directly employ 825,000 Americans.
We therefore have a win-win relationship with the United States. I would even argue that it is particularly important for the United States because Canadian exports are worth $446 billion and Canadian imports are worth $305 billion. Those are enormous amounts of money.
We cannot take this relationship for granted. We cannot take our trade relationship with our neighbours for granted. We have experienced times in the past when things were not going well in the U.S. There is an old adage in Quebec that when the U.S. sneezes, we catch a cold. That is quite true. A number of signals have been sent in recent years to indicate that we need to pay more attention to this relationship with our neighbours to the south, the special economic relationship we have with our American neighbours.
Today's motion states that “trade between Canada and the United States of America exceeds $1.5-billion per day, more than 300,000 people normally cross the common border monthly, the two countries have enjoyed one of the world's largest open trading blocs for the free movement of goods, services and people since 1989”.
It calls for the creation of a “special committee with the mandate to conduct hearings to examine and review all aspects of the economic relationship between Canada and the United States, including, but not limited to (i) the expressed bilateral economic priorities of the governments of Canada and the United States”.
This is what that means to businesses back home. A. Lacroix Granit, in Saint-Sébastien, provided the granite for the 9/11 memorial in New York City. That is a business back home in the Eastern Townships. Across the United States, especially in the Boston area, there are courtrooms in many courthouses, as beautiful as this chamber, whose millwork was done by Polybois, a company in Thetford Mines. There is CVTech, Série-Act Peinture, CBR Laser, and Tafisa, a Portuguese company that was seeking a foothold in North America and decided to set up shop in Lac-Mégantic so it could export to the United States.
That is the reality. Hundreds and hundreds of jobs depend on the unique trade relationship that we have with the United States.
That is why it is important to take the time to think about it, sit down and figure out what parliamentarians can do to make this relationship better, not worse.
The relationship has deteriorated over the past few years. This was evident with the signing of the last agreement between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. Unfortunately, Canada ceded part of its sovereignty to the U.S. because the agreement was negotiated at the expense of Quebec's dairy farmers. We agreed to cap exports of Canadian non-fat dairy solids, and we decided to let the United States set our pricing structure and eliminate a milk class. This was done because the negotiators were not aware that dairy farmers also need some protection in these agreements. That has always been accepted.
Contrary to what we were being told, the Americans did not want to abolish supply management. They did not even want to negotiate with Canada at first. They wanted to negotiate with Mexico. It was Canada that raised its hand and said that it did not want to be forgotten. They did not forget about us, and they really hurt dairy farmers.
I also want to talk about electricity exports, which play a key role in Canada's and especially in Quebec's relationship with the United States. Quebec produces a form of renewable energy that is highly sought out by the United States. For example, Hydro-Québec's own website talks about exports to New York state. Quebec has been supplying clean, renewable energy to New York state for over 100 years, starting with the construction of the 200-megawatt Les Cèdres-Dennison intertie in 1914. This relationship continued throughout the evolution of power pooling arrangements and wholesale electricity markets. We can contribute to a long-term renewable energy vision for New York state. This is what is important, and we need to talk about it. We need to focus on exporting renewable energy.
There are also energy exports to New England. Hydro-Québec has been selling electricity to New England since the 1980s. This U.S. region accounts for about half of Quebec's electricity exports. That is a lot. We are talking about jobs and revenue that help boost Canada's economy and support Canadians and Canadian businesses. These are things we absolutely must talk about when the time comes.
There are interconnection projects going on right now. Certain hydroelectric projects are currently facing opposition in some U.S. states that are opposed to purchasing electricity from Quebec.
This committee needs to look at this important sector of Quebec's economy so that we can talk about it and anticipate potential problems. Parliament has a role to play in helping Hydro-Québec with its exports.
Today's motion to create the committee talks about something that we find very worrisome, and that is the new rules related to the Buy American Act. It seems the new U.S. administration intends to put those rules forward again.
The last time that happened, all of our companies rallied together. All of our companies worked hard. What happened? Almost all of our big companies had to open a plant in the U.S. to be able to continue doing business there. It is not right that it has to come to that when we are neighbours and want to maintain a good economic relationship.
I hope that all of the parties in the House will support the creation of this committee for the good of businesses in my riding, businesses in Quebec, Quebec's hydroelectricity, and the Canadian economy as a whole.