Madam Speaker, it is a privilege to rise for the third time today. It seems like I was just on my feet. It is great to be here.
I will take this opportunity, because I originally asked my question of the former minister of transport and international trade, to wish her well in her new role. I will also tell the parliamentary secretaries on the other side to maybe get their résumés ready, as I hear there may be some other shuffling in cabinet.
My question was one of the major questions in the election. The Prime Minister made a very grandiose promise, which turned into a bait-and-switch situation. He said to Canadians that the government would eliminate all interprovincial trade barriers by Canada Day. It sounded like a great promise, and won him some votes I am guessing, but the reality is that it was never possible.
This is one of the many promises the government has broken in less than six months. The Liberals said they would cut spending, and we are likely going to have the largest deficit ever in Canadian history, excluding wartime and pandemic eras. They said they were going to tackle crime, yet we see crime continuing to rise. They said the economy would grow the fastest in the G7, and it turns out it is actually growing the slowest. We have a series of these broken promises.
Getting to the specific promise of free trade in Canada by Canada Day, the government also told us that it would contribute $200 billion in economic benefits. The reality is that a tiny number of interprovincial trade barriers have been removed. They are the federal trade barriers, which represent a minuscule portion of the barriers. There are still barriers to selling alcohol direct to consumers. There are still many barriers for professionals or tradespeople who want to work in the various provinces across the country. There are still many barriers for transportation. There are different rules for different roads across the country.
There are also many different regulations across the country for the manufacturing and distribution of safety devices. Quite frankly, in order to have a toilet on a construction site in Ontario, one needs a different toilet than one does in Manitoba. Does that make any sense? These trade barriers very much still exist. They are still very much real.
I will give the parliamentary secretary an opportunity to respond, but I want to lay out my question. I am hopeful. I know that notes are often prepared by the PMO, but perhaps he can show his freedom, as the independent and intelligent member I know he is, and respond to my question, which is very simple, concrete and tangible: How much economic benefit have we realized from the minuscule, tiny reduction in interprovincial trade barriers?