Evidence of meeting #2 for Transport, Infrastructure and Communities in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was toyota.
A recording is available from Parliament.
10:30 a.m.
Liberal
Bonnie Crombie Liberal Mississauga—Streetsville, ON
Mr. McDonald, with all due respect, you are associate assistant deputy minister. To whom do you report?
10:30 a.m.
Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security Group, Department of Transport
I report to the deputy minister.
10:30 a.m.
Liberal
Bonnie Crombie Liberal Mississauga—Streetsville, ON
Is this a serious enough issue that perhaps the deputy minister should have appeared before this committee today?
10:30 a.m.
Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security Group, Department of Transport
That's not for me to say. I was the person invited.
10:30 a.m.
Liberal
Bonnie Crombie Liberal Mississauga—Streetsville, ON
Why wouldn't the deputy minister come here today?
10:30 a.m.
Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security Group, Department of Transport
I cannot comment on that.
10:30 a.m.
Liberal
Bonnie Crombie Liberal Mississauga—Streetsville, ON
What sort of advice did you receive from the deputy minister before coming here today?
10:30 a.m.
Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security Group, Department of Transport
I did not receive any particular advice from the deputy minister before coming.
10:30 a.m.
Liberal
Bonnie Crombie Liberal Mississauga—Streetsville, ON
Did you consult with him, or did he consult with you?
10:30 a.m.
Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security Group, Department of Transport
Certainly we let her know that we were coming before the committee.
10:30 a.m.
Liberal
Bonnie Crombie Liberal Mississauga—Streetsville, ON
Who briefs the minister? Would that be your responsibility or would that be the deputy minister's?
10:30 a.m.
Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security Group, Department of Transport
That would be both of us. I've briefed the minister on various occasions, as has Trevor and as has Louis-Philippe.
10:30 a.m.
Liberal
Bonnie Crombie Liberal Mississauga—Streetsville, ON
Would the minister provide guidance or direction on your appearance here today?
10:30 a.m.
Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security Group, Department of Transport
The minister has certainly expressed a great interest in Toyota, and he wants us to ensure that we're using the Motor Vehicle Safety Act to its best use to ensure that the safety of Canadians is protected.
10:30 a.m.
Liberal
Bonnie Crombie Liberal Mississauga—Streetsville, ON
My question was, did the minister provide any direction on your appearance here today?
10:30 a.m.
Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security Group, Department of Transport
The minister provided me with no direct direction on my appearance--
10:30 a.m.
Liberal
Bonnie Crombie Liberal Mississauga—Streetsville, ON
Did the minister's staff provide direction on your appearance here today?
10:30 a.m.
Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security Group, Department of Transport
Certainly we met with the minister's staff before our appearance to brief them on what we would be presenting to the committee, and we discussed our appearance.
10:30 a.m.
Liberal
Bonnie Crombie Liberal Mississauga—Streetsville, ON
Was your presentation acceptable? Were there any changes made?
10:30 a.m.
Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security Group, Department of Transport
There were none in particular that I can think of.
10:30 a.m.
Liberal
Bonnie Crombie Liberal Mississauga—Streetsville, ON
I have to apologize because I'm newly from the public accounts committee, where usually the Auditor General appears before us. I'm just concerned that the deputy minister wouldn't have been here today to appear before us and to answer our questions.
10:35 a.m.
Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security Group, Department of Transport
I'm not sure that she was directly invited. I'd have to defer to the chair, but it was my impression that I was the official invited by the department and as such I accepted.
10:35 a.m.
Liberal
Bonnie Crombie Liberal Mississauga—Streetsville, ON
I'm just concerned that perhaps the minister didn't give proper instruction today. What instructions did you receive from the minister's staff?
10:35 a.m.
Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security Group, Department of Transport
I received no particular instruction. As I said, we reviewed the documents we would be presenting and that was the extent of it.
10:35 a.m.
Liberal
Bonnie Crombie Liberal Mississauga—Streetsville, ON
Okay. I'll move on. Thank you.
Relative to the proportion of complaints that are in the U.S., how many investigators do they have as a percentage of complaints?