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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 283

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 15, 2024 10:00AM
  • Feb/15/24 2:04:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government is investing in and strengthening the economic prosperity of today and tomorrow. As a proud northerner and a rural MP, I have travelled and experienced first hand the resilience, innovation and creativity of northern Ontario communities. I have seen innovation and new ways of exploring critical minerals extraction to help fuel our transition to a zero-carbon economy that respects the environment and includes indigenous communities in true partnership. Last week, I was in Cobalt with the member for Nipissing—Timiskaming to highlight a historic $5-million investment from FedNor to Electro Battery, a company that will support building over 1.5 million electric vehicles in Ontario. I visited some businesses that we supported, like breweries, restaurants and tourism operators. Their important contribution is helping boost the economies of small towns in northern Ontario, a great place to call home. I want to thank them for sharing their success stories and for contributing to northern Ontario's prosperous future.
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  • Feb/15/24 2:47:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we know that infrastructure investment is absolutely vital to economic growth. As part of our infrastructure policy, we are talking about almost 400 road and highway projects that have been invested in at the federal level. That is just one example of a fund that is at work. I have mentioned already northern examples. Let me give the example, of course, of the Gordie Howe Bridge, which that side, the Conservatives, opposed. There were $6 billion for Gordie Howe Bridge, and $153 million to enhance the Trans-Canada Highway in Newfoundland to make sure there are improvements there, the twinning of the highway to be specific, and we will continue.
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  • Feb/15/24 3:01:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we know that building a more inclusive economy means building a stronger economy. That is why our government has created the first-ever Black entrepreneurship program. This historic $265-million investment has supported over 9,000 Black entrepreneurs across this country and strengthens the ecosystem that supports them. It is disappointing that the Leader of the Opposition and the Conservatives have voted against the support and turned their backs on Black small business entrepreneurs. On this side of the House, we will keep being there for Black entrepreneurs, as the member for Vancouver Centre is. Happy Black History Month.
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  • Feb/15/24 6:49:20 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, if the Liberal government would simply get out of the way, private capital would return to this country, and we would have actual investment that would employ Canadians and create jobs without massive subsidies. The estimate has been that the subsidy on this plant alone will be $1,000 per family in Canada. A perfect example of the Liberal government's absolutely disastrous track record on investment in this country is the oil and gas business, where it chased out private capital that would have built the Trans Mountain pipeline. Now, the government has to massively subsidize that project, when it could have been built with private capital and could have employed Canadians in both the construction and the fulfillment of that job. The project is still not done. The government wants extraordinary credit for its subsidy program when it should be welcoming private capital.
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  • Feb/15/24 6:50:26 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is no surprise that I disagree with the member opposite. I think the stats and the actual information out there actually proves the opposite. Canada is rated number three in the world in foreign direct investment. We have also been rated by BloombergNEF as the number one place for investment in electric vehicle supply chains in the whole world. The automotive manufacturers in Canada and around the world are taking major steps to transition to electrification. As a result, demand for EV batteries is expected to grow exponentially over the next decade. Canada is uniquely positioned to take advantage of this transition with its existing expertise in the automotive sector, clean energy and an abundance of critical minerals and access to global markets. However, Canada will not be able to secure these investments without taking steps to remain competitive. Restricting the use of foreign—
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