“I want the House to pass this bill. It speeds up how Canada buys military equipment and cuts down on delays. This helps keep Canada safe, gives our military what it needs faster, and creates good jobs in communities like mine.”

“Madam Speaker, it is very fitting that today, October 24, on the launch of the Royal Canadian Legion’s national poppy campaign, I rise here to support veterans and to speak to Bill C-40, the strengthening Canada’s defence sector act. Today we are here to discuss some important legislation that would accelerate defence procurement, strengthen Canadian identity and reinforce Canadian sovereignty. This bill represents a major step in modernizing how Canada would equip its military. Above all, this legislation is about building a stronger, more capable Canada, a Canada that continues to defend itself across emerging threats, protecting its interests and keeping Canadians safe. This bill comes at a very defining moment in our country. Our government is making a generational investment to help rebuild, rearm and reinvest in the Canadian Armed Forces. However, our investments are only part of that equation, as we must also ensure that they translate into effective military capabilities delivered to the Canadian Armed Forces quickly and efficiently and that they deliver real economic benefits for Canadians from coast to coast to coast. To meet these important commitments, we established the Defence Investment Agency, or the DIA, as we are calling it here today, as a special operating agency within Public Services and Procurement Canada back in October 2025. In just one year, the DIA has helped accelerate and advance a number of major defence projects. The legislation we are proposing would build on this momentum. It would give the DIA the additional tools and authorities it needs to keep doing this work even more quickly and efficiently. It is important to know that we are also not starting from zero. With that in mind, I would like to take a couple of minutes to highlight some of the important projects this DIA has been able to advance over the past year to strengthen our armed forces, as well as discuss how Bill C-40 would ensure we keep delivering at the pace that our military needs and that Canadians expect. I would be remiss if I did not speak about what some of these investments with the DIA mean for my home riding of South Shore—St. Margarets and for rural communities across Atlantic Canada. When we talk about procurement, shipbuilding and marine capability, we are talking about more than just ships. We are talking about good-paying jobs. We are talking about advanced manufacturing. We are talking about skilled trades. We are also talking about the future of our rural coastal communities, which have been building and servicing vessels for generations. In South Shore—St. Margarets, we understand the marine sector because we live it. We are Bluenosers, by the way. Many of us were raised on the water, many of us live on the water and many of us have spent generations building, maintaining and innovating in Canada’s marine economy. We know how to build marine. What is remarkable is that Atlantic Canadians only represent about 6% of Canada’s total population, yet our region is home to over 20% of Canada’s full defence infrastructure and capabilities. That expertise did not appear overnight. It was built by generations of tradespeople, engineers, fabricators, welders, machinists, shipbuilders and marine workers, who continue to contribute to Canada’s security and prosperity every single day. That is why defence procurement is so important for ridings like mine. When our government announced the historic $11-billion program for new icebreakers at Davie, the largest shipbuilding contract in Quebec’s history, it was more than just an investment in ships. It was an investment in Canadian workers, an investment in Canadian capacity and an investment in the more than 1,500 Canadian suppliers that support our shipbuilding sector from coast to coast to coast. I am proud to say that many of those suppliers are located in rural Nova Scotia. When major contracts are awarded to companies like Davie or Irving, the benefits do not stop at the gates of those shipyards. Those benefits ripple outward through an entire network of Canadian suppliers and manufacturers. In my riding, one of the best examples is Hawboldt Industries in Chester. Hawboldt recently secured almost $40 million in contracts with Davie for its cranes, winches and specialized marine equipment. That contract represents more than one company’s success. It supports jobs through Atlantic Canada’s manufacturing supply chain. It creates work for fabricators, engineers, steel suppliers, machine shops, transportation companies and tradespeople. I could go on. It strengthens the industrial capacity that Canada needs not only to build vessels, but to sustain and service them for decades to come. My riding is also home to companies like ABCO industries, a recognized leader in advanced manufacturing and metal fabrication. We are home to the Lunenburg foundry, Lunenburg Shipyard Alliance and East River Shipyard, all of which are contributing to Canada’s marine industrial base through vessel reconstruction, fabrication, repairs, refits and maintenance. These companies might not make the big national headlines, but they are absolutely essential to Canada’s defence readiness. While our shipyards may build the next generation of vessels, companies in my riding along the south shore help maintain and service the fleets that Canada relies on every day. That work supports highly skilled jobs. It supports critical industrial expertise, and it ensures that Canada retains the ability to maintain and repair key assets here at home. The DIA’s goal is not simply to acquire equipment faster. It is about fundamentally transforming how we approach defence procurement. Historically, major acquisitions have involved several federal departments, each with its own level of different important responsibilities. National Defence identified military requirements, Public Services and Procurement managed procurement and contracts, and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada oversaw industrial and economic considerations. While this arrangement brings valuable expertise across government, it creates duplication. It delays. It creates uncertainty as projects are moved along these different organizations. The DIA is helping to change that, and we are seeing the results of that in my riding of South Shore—St. Margarets, in little rural Nova Scotia. By bringing together military, technical, commercial and procurement specialists from across government, the agency is building integrated teams that can work collaboratively from the earliest stages of a project. Instead of relying on the same sequence of hand-offs between organizations, the right experts can work together earlier to assess options, resolve problems and keep these projects moving along. The DIA is also introducing a more flexible approach to procurement that includes engaging with industry earlier, streamlining decision-making capabilities and considering existing commercial and military solutions where appropriate. This work is closely connected to Canada’s defence industrial strategy, the DIS, which is helping to ensure that our defence investments also build the industrial capacity, skilled workforce and secure supply chains needed to produce and sustain critical capabilities here at home. At the heart of this approach is to build, partner and buy, baby, buy. Building in Canada where we have that capacity, or where we are developing capacity, is strategically important. We are partnering with our trusted allies, with collaboration, and that is providing access to better capabilities, technologies and production opportunities. The “buy” part means buying existing capabilities from trusted partners when building or partnering is not the right solution. This approach is helping us consider military requirements and industrial opportunities together from the onset. It is a more streamlined approach. It helps Canadian businesses, including small and medium-sized enterprises, compete for defence contracts to develop new technologies and grow their operations. It also strengthens our ability to maintain and sustain essential military equipment in Canada.”

• Echo ×5

  A repeated line

  “Rearm and reinvest in the Canadian Armed Forces.”

  Said 5 times by 5 members since June 1.

  Every time it was said →

“Nova Scotia has a large military community and defence industry. Our armed forces and their families need good support and the right equipment on time. I want the member to explain how we can make sure our soldiers get the gear they need when they need it, so they can focus on their jobs.”

“Madam Speaker, Nova Scotia has over 14,000 members of the Canadian Armed Forces and defence families. It is the number three province in terms of the population of our defence community. Nova Scotia has been punching above its weight in terms of the defence industry. The hon. member talked a lot about what we are going to be procuring, but she also talked a little about how it is important to have not only equipment but also supports for the members of the Canadian Armed Forces and their families. Could she elaborate a little about making sure that we get them the equipment they need when they need it, to make sure that they can focus on the task at hand and not be worrying about whether they have the tools necessary?”

“We need to support Canadian Armed Forces members. That means giving them the tools, housing, base hospitals, and infrastructure they need. We have neglected our military buildings for too long. Our buying strategy helps fix this while supporting our troops and small businesses.”

“Madam Speaker, of course, our members of CAF are some of the hardest-working people that we have here in Canada, and we need to support them. How do we support them? It is by giving them the tools they need, by giving them the housing and infrastructure they need and by giving them the hospitals they need within base. We have let our infrastructure go for a little too long, and things like our DIS and our procurement strategy help streamline that process so that we are better able to help support our CAF members, as well as our SMEs.”