Thank you, Joël. And it’s—as you said as the local member of Parliament—it was a real accomplishment to get to where we are today; thank you for all the work you’ve done. It’s a real pleasure to be here with you, and also with other members of our team, like Jean-Yves Duclos, who represents the city of Québec so well and who, me too, spoke to me about it, even before the 2015 elections, as one of the priorities we had to deliver for the Government of Quebec, for the province of Quebec. And Pablo Rodriguez, our Quebec Lieutenant, and especially since he became the Minister of Transport, we were able to complete this important acquisition. Thank you, Pablo, for all your leadership, too. 

I want to welcome Minister Jonatan Julien and Mayor Bruno Marchand. I also want to welcome all the friends who are here for your work over the years. But I can also say that without people like Yvon Charest, we would not be here. Really, the work that he, he did—he could not be here with us today—but his dedication, his commitment to this for years, it’s really one of the things that allowed us to get to this point. It was really a team effort, as things should be. We all worked together to get to this happy day. 

Before the Québec Bridge became operational in 1917, the only way to cross the St. Lawrence between Québec and Lévis was by ferry or directly on the ice in the winter. For over 100 years now, the bridge has connected the city of Québec to the rail network in the rest of Canada and the United States. It is vital infrastructure for the region. Every day, we’re talking over 33,000 vehicles, including 270 transit buses and 8 passenger trains, in addition to freight trains. 

It is therefore absolutely essential that the Québec Bridge remain open, safe, and operational. It’s essential for people who need to travel from one side to the other to go to work or to school. It’s essential for our economy and our supply chains. Therefore, we are very pleased to announce today that we have reached an agreement with CN to repatriate the Québec Bridge to the federal government. 

(Applause and bravos) 

Today, we are announcing an agreement with the Canadian National Railway, the current owner of the Québec Bridge, to repatriate this essential and historic infrastructure to the federal government and support its long-term viability.

This is a commitment we made to the people of the Québec region and, today, we are fulfilling our promise. The federal government will invest around $40 million a year for its rehabilitation program over the next 25 years. The program also includes painting and esthetics components. These investments will allow us to extend the bridge’s service life for decades to come. This agreement is the result of many consultations and negotiations, and it shows, as I said, that when we work together, we can achieve results that benefit everyone. 

In the context of the federal budget we tabled last month, we spoke a lot about fairness for every generation.

And we’re focused on building a stronger future so that every generation, especially younger generations like millennials and Gen Z, have a fair chance to succeed.

Today, with the Québec Bridge, this is an example of what we are doing to strengthen the future for generations to come. We know that the investments and the infrastructures we benefit from as a society today, it wasn’t our generation that built them; it was past generations that invested in the future to build a stronger future. 

That is exactly what we are now doing to build for future generations, with enormous challenges that we are currently facing whether that is climate change or an increasingly complex geopolitical situation. Investing now to ensure that future generations have a chance at security and prosperity, opportunities that we had, that is central to what all governments must do. 

This is in addition to our historic investments to build more housing, faster. To our measures to create more child care spaces. To make life more affordable, for example, with dental care. It is in addition to the work we are doing to attract international investments to build a clean technology ecosystem here at home. Stronger supply chains, communities that are more connected, and an economy that focuses on the well-being of all Quebecers and of all Canadians.