Steeve Lavoie

Mr. Speaker, last June, municipalities, schools and organizations from across the country came together to take part in the ParticipACTION community challenge to encourage Canadians to be more physically active and to make sport more accessible and inclusive. This year, Quebec City stood out and won the title of Canada's most active community. This recognition speaks to the incredible commitment of our volunteers and citizens, who help make physical activity an integral part of life in Quebec City. In addition, this victory means that the community will receive $100,000 to support local sports and physical activity initiatives. On behalf of all members of the House from the greater Quebec City area, I want to congratulate everyone who played a part in this great achievement, of which we can all be very proud.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her fine speech. I know that she spent a lot of time this summer visiting businesses. I know that she heard from many people about the lack of predictability and the current uncertainty. They need more predictability from the government. Can she share with us what these businesses had to say after she met with their executives this summer, and particularly any comments regarding the predictability that Bill C‑39 will be able to provide?

Mr. Speaker, I would like to set the record straight on two counts before I ask my question. My colleague said that there have been some grand announcements, but nothing concrete. I was actually in Lévis on March 29 for the steel cutting ceremony for the Polar Max icebreaker, so that is one project that is happening. Our government announced an $11‑billion contract to build six icebreakers that will provide jobs for 5,000 people in our region. It also provides predictability for more than 600 suppliers in the region who will be able to invest so they can supply the Davie shipyard. That is what our businesses want. With that, does my colleague still think that we need to stop making announcements that support our businesses?

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, whom I respect and with whom I work in committee. I have two things to say. First, what I have been hearing from him and his colleagues since the beginning of the debate on Bill C‑39 can be summed up by the words “status quo”. They want to maintain the status quo in many areas. They want to know why we would do this or that and why we would make changes. As we know, the status quo means not making a decision. Something occurred to me. I know my colleague worked very late last night and again this morning. I did my homework, too, and I looked into it. Bill C‑39 speeds up projects, but it also speeds up situations like the one in Lac‑Mégantic. People have been waiting for 13 years, and things are stuck in administrative projects. We are talking over $100 million. The project is going to cost more. Bill C‑39 makes it possible to fast-track projects like the one in Lac‑Mégantic. Did my colleague's research yield any concrete suggestions for speeding up decision-making, so that situations like this never happen again and so that we can actually resolve things more quickly?

Mr. Speaker, I found my colleague's speech very interesting and encouraging when it comes to Bill C‑39. I think he agrees with the spirit of Bill C‑39, which is to fast-track projects. He also wondered about the time limits. The bill is long—over 250 pages—but the information on time limits and analyses is there. From his speech, I understand that he wants to fast-track things and make them work. He wants us to work together with the unions to make projects move forward and avoid additional delays. I would like to know one thing: Will he vote in favour of the bill so that we can move forward and fast-track construction?