Marcus Powlowski

Madam Speaker, the member talked about Bill C-39's effect on labour negotiations, but it seems to me that section 107 of the Labour Code protects the greater economy as a whole as well. The act would create new conditions the minister must consider. Before using section 107, the minister must consider a mediator's report but also must consider what is in the national interest. It goes on to further define the national interest as taking into account “whether the strike or lockout has...significant impact on the Canadian economy” or “may cause...serious social disruption”. I would have thought this would be of benefit to the greater Canadian economy as a whole. Am I right?

Mr. Speaker, I would like to exhibit the member as a great representative of our party, because here he is, the former Ontario minister of finance, sitting on our backbench. I know that, over the years, he has been involved in a lot of different government programs and a lot of different projects. He has probably seen the best and worst of governments. What does the member like best from an economic perspective in Bill C-39? I know there is a lot of good out there. What does he think would have the greatest impact from an economic perspective?

Mr. Speaker, a few weeks ago, I was at the port of Thunder Bay and saw these giant windmill blades that were on their way to Alberta through the port of Thunder Bay. However, the port of Thunder Bay is underutilized and the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway is functioning at only 50% capacity. Alberta grain has long gone through Thunder Bay, but there is basically no container traffic on the Great Lakes. Does the member think some attention to the national trade corridors would be to the benefit of Alberta and the people of Thunder Bay in Ontario?

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for his intervention, although I ended up feeling a little confused. He started off talking about Liberal policies stalling and stifling major projects. In this bill, my understanding is that both the impact assessment and the permitting would be done concurrently and over the course of a year. I would think that would address his problem with our stalling major projects. Then he went on, and it seemed that at the end he was criticizing the one year as not being enough. Exactly where does the member stand on the one-year timeline to get projects approved?

Mr. Speaker, if we as Canadians ask ourselves what things, what events, define who we are as a people, I think we would be hard-pressed to find anything more quintessentially Canadian than the triumphant moment when the captain of the Stanley Cup-winning team hoists the cup over his head. It is the moment many of us grow up dreaming about. Very few of us actually get to live that dream. However, one of my constituents did last Sunday, as Jordan Staal accepted the cup on behalf of the Carolina Hurricanes, hoisted it in the air and, for a moment, became king of Canada. Not only that, but he won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff most valuable player. Sincerely, I think a lot of Canadians would agree with me in saying that life does not get any better than that. I offer my congratulations to Jordan, and we look forward to him bringing home the cup this summer.