Evidence of meeting #24 for Transport, Infrastructure and Communities in the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was program.
A recording is available from Parliament.
5:10 p.m.
Bloc
Robert Carrier Bloc Alfred-Pellan, QC
The minister seemed to hesitate earlier on with respect to the possible lifespan of this program, as to whether or not it will be maintained. He seemed to be saying that he has put in place a program which...
5:10 p.m.
Deputy Minister, Transport Canada
Allow me to explain. Before budget 2006, there was no road fund. So all of the money invested in roads was under the strategic fund. Since then a road fund was created: the Highways and Borders Infrastructure Fund. The government set aside $2 billion in the strategic fund. We can assume that money for public transit will flow in large part from this fund. Roads are funded under another fund. So there will be more flexibility in terms of spending.
5:10 p.m.
Bloc
Robert Carrier Bloc Alfred-Pellan, QC
The program's name itself sounds more like a pilot project than an investment fund.
5:10 p.m.
Deputy Minister, Transport Canada
Yes, all right, but that does not mean that funds under the pilot project may not also be admissible in the future.
5:10 p.m.
Bloc
Robert Carrier Bloc Alfred-Pellan, QC
You are still going to provide specifics for that, aren't you?
5:10 p.m.
Liberal
David McGuinty Liberal Ottawa South, ON
Mr. Chair, I'm going to go back to some terms of the budget for CATSA, to a question I put to the minister, which he didn't answer.
I'd like to get a better understanding about the state of understanding in the department and the government today, particularly in your department, with respect to Senator Kenny's report and the numerous times he has raised this with you, raised it with governments, raised it with the public. I've had four, five, six conversations with presidents and CEOs of airport authorities across the country who tell me that this is a problem waiting to happen, that we have parcels, we have shipments, deliveries, in the holds of passenger airplanes, and that there is shrink-wrapped technology right now off the shelf to purchase, $2 million to $3 million scanners for our top five or six airports.
Can you please give me an indication of what you're doing about this? How long have you been seized of this issue? How much money is being allocated this year and potentially next year, or perhaps in the supplementary estimates, to deal with this issue?
Most Canadians understand that this is a problem. Can someone please help me understand so I can tell my travelling constituents and the public in my riding and the airport in my riding what's going on here?
5:10 p.m.
Deputy Minister, Transport Canada
Okay. In the last budget the government voted $26 million for air cargo security, and we have whole team working on that now.
Mr. John Forster, who has just joined us, could give you the details of what we're working on right now.
5:10 p.m.
Liberal
David McGuinty Liberal Ottawa South, ON
Are we talking about parcels, shipments, or are you talking about passenger luggage?
November 7th, 2006 / 5:10 p.m.
John Forster Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security, Transport Canada
No, the funding that was approved by the new government and announced by the Prime Minister in June is for air cargo. Baggage and passenger belongings that go on airplanes are screened by CATSA. As of January 1 this year, Canada achieved--in fact exceeded--the international requirement for passenger baggage, because we screen it on international and most domestic flights.
For cargo, what we've launched is a project with CBSA, the industry, the airports, and the airlines. The goal here is twofold. One will be to develop a program for registered shippers to try to separate.... It's impossible to screen every piece of cargo that goes on a plane because of the volume of it, so you want to do much like you do at the border with the FAST program--identify well-known, bona fide shippers and have them registered with a security plan and a security program.
For unknown cargo we want to develop protocols and equipment and technology to screen that, and the funding there is to develop a program to do that over the next year or two and to pilot test those in airports with CATSA, with the airlines. So there's now a program under way to do that. The funding has been approved by Treasury Board.
5:15 p.m.
Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security, Transport Canada
This would be all cargo.
5:15 p.m.
Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security, Transport Canada
Including cargo planes and passenger planes.
5:15 p.m.
Liberal
5:15 p.m.
Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security, Transport Canada
We are now screening 100% of passenger baggage.
5:15 p.m.
Liberal
5:15 p.m.
Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security, Transport Canada
Well, that's what the goal of this program is. It's to look at a program to screen cargo that's going onto passenger and cargo aircraft.
5:15 p.m.
Liberal
David McGuinty Liberal Ottawa South, ON
But you just said that it's not possible to screen all cargo.
5:15 p.m.
Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security, Transport Canada
Well, the equipment that's in place in airports is designed to screen passenger bags. That's what it's there for and it's fully utilized to do that. Part of what this program will look at is to what degree we are going to screen cargo, what technology and equipment is needed to do that, and how fast we can put that in place.
5:15 p.m.
Liberal
David McGuinty Liberal Ottawa South, ON
Have I been misinformed by presidents and CEOs of airport authorities who tell me there's technology now to be purchased at $2 million to $3 million a scanner, and that those scanners can scan all packages, all shipped materials, going onto passenger planes?
5:15 p.m.
Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security, Transport Canada
The question is going to be what you are scanning it for and what you are trying to detect. When you look at a cargo bin that's going on an aircraft, you can have quite a mixture of material and contents in there. It's much more complicated than doing a small suitcase. If you're looking at a large bin that's going in there, it could contain anything from electronics to clothes to a wide range of things.
All countries in the world are trying to deal with the issue of how to screen cargo going on aircraft. That's what the program is allowing us to do, and the new funding is going to allow us to accelerate that.
