Mr. Speaker, it is truly a privilege for me to rise in the House of Commons today to speak to the important motion moved by the member for Mirabel.
From what I understand, the Government of Canada fully recognizes that Canadians have concerns about expropriation. There is a reason why we have been talking about this all day. We also recognize the harm caused to the many families whose farms were expropriated in 1969 to build the Montreal-Mirabel International Airport. Such action should never have been taken and must never happen again.
I was born in the riding of Berthier—Maskinongé. I heard about this when I was very young, and I am very aware of the hurt it caused in the community. However, today, we are in a different place, and we believe that the community, the Government of Canada and our institutions have learned that this is not how things are done today.
I would therefore like to assure the House that these considerations are taken very seriously and that the expropriation regime has undergone major changes over the past 57 years. However, what concerns me today and what has prompted me to speak is the fact that our Bloc Québécois colleagues have been tight-lipped about their support for the high-speed rail project and that their action could prevent it from moving forward.
There is also a lot of disinformation, and disinformation is plaguing our organizations, our teams and our communities. It is important to provide our constituents with accurate information, and today, I do not believe that we have the full picture of what the Alto project will look like and how it will unfold.
Just this afternoon, I heard a Bloc Québécois colleague say that because the Alto project was included in Bill C-5, there would be no consultation and it would be exempt from the various regulations. I would like to state that this is simply not true. There is a real consultation process under way and a real impact assessment process that will take place. There are consultations to build social licence.
The motion, which I have here in front of me, refers to the importance of not undertaking expropriations again without public consultation, social licence and appropriate compensation. That is precisely what we are putting in place. It is an organized, structured process based on fundamental values in which market value, eligible costs, and guarantees that the affected parties are treated fairly and consistently are respected. They have the right to negotiate. They even have the right to go to federal court if they are not satisfied with the settlements. We are no longer in the same place.
When applying the procedure, the government exercises caution and due diligence. As the member for Châteauguay—Les Jardins-de-Napierville, I believe that things will be done, and done well. However, I also want to ensure that our colleagues understand that we will preserve the fundamental protections that safeguard property owners' rights by ensuring a fair, consistent, and respectful process for all involved.
The Bloc Québécois claims that the high-speed rail corridor, which is 60 meters wide, will cause the same historical injustices suffered by the citizens of Mirabel. That is not true. That is not fair either. The footprint of this project represents less than 1% of the area covered by the Mirabel airport. The project will include a rigorous consultation process and, as I mentioned earlier, environmental assessments that are only possible with the passage of the high-speed rail network act.
Contrary to the Bloc's assertions, this bill therefore requires that the impact assessment process apply to all segments of the project. This includes extensive consultations in Mirabel and along the entire route, including in the riding where I was born, Berthier—Maskinongé.
This process complements the consultations that were just launched by Alto. We know that Alto will be holding consultations in more than 100 communities, working with elected officials, holding public information sessions, and communicating regularly with people along the route. As well, not only do the vast majority of Quebeckers support high-speed rail, but so does the Government of Quebec.
Our high-speed rail network act is based on discussions with the Government of Quebec and is modelled on Quebec's expropriation law.
The Bloc Québécois's fear campaign against our high-speed rail legislation would not protect Canadians. Instead, it would derail the project, putting at risk more than 50,000 jobs, up to $35 billion in GDP, and a unique industrial opportunity for Canada's steel, forestry and construction industries.
The Bloc Québécois's approach also jeopardizes emissions reductions equivalent to taking 100,000 cars off our roads. It puts at risk lucrative contracts for local businesses in rural communities all along the route. It compromises this opportunity to show the world that Canadians have the drive, the ingenuity and the expertise to get big projects built.
The Prime Minister has been clear. We must build the transformative projects needed to better connect Canada, grow our economy and support our workers. I am deeply concerned about the disinformation and fear campaign orchestrated by the Bloc Québécois, targeting Quebeckers from Quebec City to Montreal, Laval and everywhere in between, in order to derail the promise of high-speed rail.
We know that in order to successfully build a high-speed train, we need to avoid the mistakes of the past. Our high-speed rail legislation does exactly that. I encourage the Bloc Québécois to stop playing political games, listen to Quebeckers and stop abandon its mission to derail the high-speed rail project.