Sonia Sidhu

Mr. Speaker, Canada's diversity is our greatest strength, and Canadian values that bring us together, such as mutual respect and inclusion, are our core strength. I am proud to represent Brampton South, one of the most diverse communities in Canada. The rise in hate-motivated incidents is deeply concerning and is a reminder that we need to do more. Across Canada, we are seeing acts of hate and hate-motivated incidents targeting synagogues, Islamic schools and places of worship. There is a sharp increase of discrimination toward many communities. This year, in April, there was a hate-motivated attack on an elderly Sikh man in Woodstock, and an incident last week in Peel. Online hate is on the rise. Police-reported hate crimes across Canada have increased, with close to 5,000 incidents reported in the last year. No person should be targeted because of their faith, race or identity. These incidents are not a reflection of Canadian values.

Mr. Speaker, it is a great honour to stand in the House to represent my residents of Brampton South and speak to Bill C-39, the building Canada strong act, introduced by my colleague, the member for Gatineau. Canada has what the world wants. We are a global leader in both clean and conventional energy, with minerals and natural resources. We are among the world's most trade-connected economies, with free trade agreements providing access to approximately 1.5 billion consumers. Canada now has the lowest marginal effective tax rate on new business investment among the G7 countries. Across the world, we are seeing changes in supply chains, trade disruptions, geopolitical tensions and tariff pressures. We must use this time to build on our strengths and ensure that we have the infrastructure, transportation network and workers to support growth. In the past year, we have already taken action to build Canada strong. Last month, we acquired nearly $500 billion in new investment commitments to Canada to support pension funds, financing for Canadian businesses and capital to grow Canadian sectors. In light of recent unjustified U.S. tariffs, we are taking action to support families, workers and industries. To date, we have provided nearly $32.5 billion in tariff relief support to industries across Canada, including a $7.5-billion relief package this past August. Last week, I joined the hon. Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the FedDev Ontario to announce $26 million in funding to support 31 GTA businesses in expanding production and diversifying into new markets. In Brampton, Daybar Industries received support, along with other companies, to expand production capacity, strengthen competitiveness and diversify into new markets. Building Canada strong means investing in our communities, supporting Canadian businesses and creating the right conditions for our communities to succeed. Bill C-39 builds on this work through three important pillars: building Canada strong, keeping Canada moving and making Canada strong for all. This bill is about strengthening our trade corridors and ports, getting infrastructure projects built faster and supporting workers and fair workplaces. It would create a more integrated process for Canada to deliver on major initiatives, including a clearer timeline for federal reviews and decisions. This greater certainty for businesses and organizations would make sure that they spend more time investing in our communities and creating good jobs, instead of worrying about regulatory burdens and unnecessary red tape. These measures would make Canada a more attractive place to invest while still maintaining our strong standard for environmental protection and sustainability. The bill is about making sure that we can continue to build at the pace our economy and communities need us to in order to thrive. It would also reduce duplication between federal departments and agencies in reviews and approving permits. The second pillar, keeping Canada moving, focuses on ensuring that our transportation network can remain the backbone of our country. We are a trading nation. Our roads, railways, ports, airports and other trade networks are critical infrastructure that all Canadians rely on for work and to get the goods they need every day. This bill would ensure that our transportation systems remain reliable and can move goods efficiently from coast to coast to coast while still delivering our trade. My community of Brampton is one example of the scale of our transportation sector. Over 2,000 trucks move through Brampton every single day. We have more than 11,000 transportation employers that support approximately 24,000 jobs. In Canada as a whole, this sector contributes around $2 billion to our GDP. The bill would ensure that Canadian farmers, manufacturers, workers, employers and industries can continue to rely on the transportation networks that connect every region of our country and build a more reliable supply chain. The bill would also heavily support our trade diversification efforts. Around 85% of Canada's non-U.S. trade moves through our marine ports. The bill would ensure that our ports have the support and infrastructure needed to continue helping businesses and industries access new markets around the world. To support these efforts, we also need to ensure that we continue to modernize our trade system. Many businesses still rely on manual processes and legacy systems, which may very well be the cause of shipment slowdowns and added costs and which create further challenges for Canadian businesses to compete in global markets. Bill C-39 would move forward with measures intended to modernize these systems and move them toward digitization. These changes would ensure that there is better coordination between industries and the federal government so that Canadian businesses can get their products to global markets quickly. In the face of these global uncertainties, we must ensure that our nation is prepared to respond by strengthening our domestic economy, supporting Canadian businesses, building new trade relationships and ensuring that our transportation networks are ready as we continue to grow. Lastly, the third pillar of the bill, “Canada Strong For All”, focuses on making sure that all Canadians have the opportunity to benefit from growth. As we build new infrastructure and strengthen our economy, we must also make sure that we support Canadian workers, protect their rights and create fair and safe workplaces. Canada's economy relies on the people who build, transport, manufacture and deliver the goods that Canadians rely on every day. In Brampton, manufacturing is nearly one-quarter of our workforce. These are good, stable jobs that support thousands of families, individuals and livelihoods. Across Canada, over one million workers are covered by the federal labour framework, including workers in transportation, rail, air and telecommunications. That is why the bill includes new measures to strengthen Canada's labour framework and would give both employers and unions more tools to resolve disputes and agreements. These measures would bring federal mediators into difficult bargaining relationships earlier, would extend the conciliation period from 60 to 90 days to give both sides more time to reach a fair agreement and would create a special mediator process for more complex issues at the bargaining table. Bill C-39 would also ensure that workers maintain their protected right to strike. These changes are intended to support more stable labour relations and more reliable supply chains while still protecting workers' rights. “Canada Strong For All” also means making sure that we continue protecting the environment and indigenous self-determination as we grow our economy. With the bill, Canada would also continue to uphold our responsibility to indigenous communities, invest in sustainability efforts and maintain the high standards that Canadians expect from major federal investments. These measures would make sure that Canada is prepared to respond to opportunities and challenges in the future. We cannot wait for these challenges to arrive. We must prepare now and build for the future. It is about building the infrastructure that Canadians need, keeping our supply chains moving effectively and efficiently, supporting our workers and making sure that all communities across the nation benefit from Canada's growth. From the financing commitments secured at the Canada investment summit to increased tariff relief support for workers and businesses, we have already taken significant action to build a more resilient economy. Bill C-39 builds on this work. For communities like mine and for every community across Canada, this improved coordination matters. It means stronger infrastructure to support major construction projects, more resilient supply chains to support Canadian industry, greater opportunities for businesses to enter different markets, and good jobs for Canadians to grow.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for his passion. It is an important question. The world is changing rapidly, as we all know. That is why this government is focused on what it can control. There are three themes to building Canada now: creating a more efficient and predictable coordination framework to attract more investment without delay, moving with speed, and expanding our trading relationship with reliable partners. We are not just paying attention to trade. We are also centred on workers and how we can move Canada forward for all collectively so we can thrive within our communities.

Mr. Speaker, the environment sector is very important in Bill C-39. It is about building faster, but the bill would not remove any environmental assessment permits or protections. Environmental health and social impacts would continue to be reviewed, and the scientific evidence would continue to guide decisions, but new processes would reduce duplication and improve coordination so that projects can move forward more efficiently. There is more transparency in that too.

Mr. Speaker, to my friend and colleague from Oakville West, thank you for your passion about industries. I worked in the nuclear caucus with you and I know how passionate you are. I was at Daybar last week with the Minister of Artificial Intelligence and colleagues. When Canadian manufacturers expand production, they need to know they have a transportation-reliable sector and a reliable method of digitalization, which I mentioned in my speech, so that they know their products are getting to consumers. This is very important for any business or manufacturer. Giving access to digitalization and sustainability to manufacturers strengthens trade corridors and reduces delays, and this bill would do exactly that. It would also create good jobs in my—