Senator Gerba: Thank you to both of our guests. My question is for you, Mr. Gallant. When you were premier, you faced frequent challenges with regard to aligning federal and provincial regulatory frameworks. The duplication of project assessments, which can be contradictory or redundant, has often slowed down the momentum of provincial governments. Is Bill C-5 comprehensive enough to help adapt to the reality of the provinces, and does it really promote effective coordination between the two levels of government?

Mr. Gallant: Thank you, senator. I think it is clear that this bill seeks more than ever to harmonize the regulatory frameworks of the provinces and the federal government to prevent duplication and redundancy. I hope it will manage to do that.

I am Canadian, and I want the regulations and protections to be the same from one province to another. In my opinion, it is the role of the federal government to ask the provinces and territories to harmonize their regulations or to pass legislation that will basically merge the provinces’ processes. That is standard procedure when it comes to labour mobility. The provinces align their certification processes with those of the other provinces in the hopes that the same thing happens at the federal level.

I don’t know whether the federal government will be able to do this because it needs the support of the provinces and territories. With regard to the territories, things are different because of the impact assessments. I think this will be feasible and that this bill is the most promising one we have seen in this regard, so I hope it will be passed.

I can tell you that I would have said the same thing when I was premier. I would have been quite prepared for the Government of New Brunswick to harmonize its regulatory framework with the federal government to build major projects, and I would have been proud to enter into negotiations with the premiers of the other provinces to negotiate with the federal government.