Mr. Speaker, I want to mention that I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Guelph.
It is an honour to rise in the House today to speak to Bill C-5 to create one Canadian economy. As this is the first time I have had the opportunity to rise in the House to deliver a speech since the election, I want to express my sincere gratitude to the great people of West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country for putting their trust in me to be their representative. Whether someone voted for me or not, I take it to heart each and every day that I am here to represent them, to be their voice in Ottawa and to ensure that the diverse needs of our region are met and are reflected by our government.
I would not be here without the work of an incredible campaign team led by Morgan, Leo, Tess, Norman, Chloe, Lilah, Lea, Natasha, Maira, Kiran, Fei and so many more, including hundreds of volunteers from all regions in my riding. I thank them for their long hours, their dedication, their hard work, and their belief in me and the work that we are doing. This victory is as much theirs as it is mine.
I thank my parents and my sister for their support and want to give a special shout-out to my nephews Haiden, Beckham and Sawyer for bringing so much joy to the campaign. More than anything, I want to thank my wonderful partner, Anastasia, for being there with me and for me every step of the way. I know this is a hard job that requires a lot of sacrifice for me to be away from her and from our home, and it is much appreciated.
This year, our country has been faced with an unprecedented challenge in this lifetime with the election of U.S. President Donald Trump and the unjustified and illegal tariffs he has wrought on our country. It has been with a great sense of pride that our country has come together in defiance of this threat. As a country, we realized that we needed to diversify our trade around the world, as well as build up our internal markets by tearing down interprovincial trade barriers.
One of our government’s first orders of business since this election was to table the one Canadian economy act. Canada's strength has always come from its people, but too often, our economy has not reflected that same unity. Outdated trade barriers, and fragmented and balkanized regulatory systems have made it harder for Canadians to build, innovate and thrive. We have been working with 13 provincial and territorial economies instead of one Canadian economy, and that has come at cost.
Whether it is a trucker trying to move goods across the provincial border, a nurse seeking work in another jurisdiction, or a business in B.C. trying to sell into the market here in Ontario, the message that we heard has been the same: It should not be this hard to do business in Canada. The two parts of the one Canadian economy act would change that. First, the free trade and labour mobility in Canada act would remove federal barriers to internal trade and labour mobility so that Canadians and businesses could move, work and grow across the country with fewer obstacles.
Right now, Canada is losing billions of dollars a year in productivity and economic output because of fragmented internal markets. A recent estimate from the Macdonald-Laurier Institute pegged the cost of internal trade barriers at up to $200 billion in lost GDP. That is not a rounding error. That is a missed opportunity the size of an entire provincial economy.
Further, studies have shown that removing these trade barriers could lower the prices that people pay for goods by up to 15%. Needless to say, it is imperative and a no-brainer to move ahead with these changes. That is just the macroeconomic picture. On the ground, it is even more frustrating. Small businesses looking to grow and access new markets across provincial lines face hurdles that feel arbitrary. Workers trained to national standards find themselves unable to cross provincial borders without getting recertified. Consumers are facing fewer choices and higher prices.
The core idea of Bill C-5 is this: If a good, service or professional qualification meets the regulatory standards of a province or territory and those standards are comparable to federal ones, then it should be recognized federally for the purposes of internal trade and labour mobility. Canadians increasingly want to buy local, and not just from their province. They want to buy Canadian. By supporting efforts to harmonize standards and expand inter-provincial sales, we are giving consumers more choice and local producers more reach.
Another area where we can expect gains is in the direct-to-consumer alcohol market. This would be a game-changer to ensure that we have the amazing wines and microbrews from B.C. available here in Ontario.
I want to acknowledge the work of our provincial and territorial partners. This is not a federal-only story, even if this legislation is only with respect to federal jurisdiction. From coast to coast to coast, provinces are taking initiative. They are reviewing outdated exceptions, simplifying regulatory frameworks and demonstrating a growing willingness to work together.
Nova Scotia's free trade and mobility within Canada act, Ontario's memoranda of understanding with six other provinces to harmonize standards and reduce red tape, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador signing bilateral agreements to improve co-operation, and B.C.'s economic stabilization act are concrete, collaborative steps that Bill C-5 complements perfectly.
Second, as the Prime Minister mentioned during the campaign, Canada needs to do things that have not been imagined or were not thought possible at a speed we have not seen before. We need to seize the incredible opportunities at our disposal and build nation-building projects, such as interprovincial electrical grid interties, to better trade within Canada, and invest in ports to diversify our trade away from the United States. The proposed mechanism to do that is the building Canada act.
This new act would allow a single minister, after consulting with the provinces and indigenous peoples, to declare projects in the national interest and pre-approve them subject to conditions geared to protecting the environment. The Prime Minister further declared that projects would not be declared in the national interest and imposed upon provinces that are not willing.
Make no mistake. Bill C-5 proposes extraordinary powers that are only justified in an extraordinary time. Many would agree we are in that situation today. However, I would like to point out a few aspects of the bill that should be studied at committee if it passes second reading.
First, while it is hard to think it was not that long ago, the first ministers' meeting from just a week and a half ago produced a rigorous list of criteria that would inform whether a project can be declared in the national interest. However, the way the legislation is written would allow for unnamed factors to also drive decision-making. This should be carefully scrutinized at committee.
Second, the legislation would give a minister the ability to exempt any national interest project from an existing law or regulation based on the advice of a minister. If this type of power is to be in the hands of a minister, it is important that there be disclosure and transparency in how that power is going to be used.
Third, the powers this legislation proposes are due to be valid for five full years. We are currently living in a crisis, an extraordinary circumstance brought on by the illegal and unjustified tariffs from President Trump. I absolutely believe that if we talk to steel and aluminum workers or workers in the automotive sector, they will confirm just that. However, this legislation is due to be in effect beyond that, beyond what will be at least one more federal election, and we need to consider how this legislation could be used in bad faith by a future government.
Where there are issues with existing environmental laws causing undue and unacceptable delays in permitting projects in our country, I believe they can be fully reviewed and amended, hopefully obviating the need for these measures in the future. When a small business in Squamish wants to ship products across the country, it should be able to do that without running into arbitrary provincial rules, likewise if a health care worker wants to practise in Sechelt.
I can see my time is running out. I thank all members for their consideration. I look forward to questions.