1982 Repatriation of the Constitution May 9th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, the member obviously wants Quebec to separate from Canada, but we want a strong Quebec within a united Canada. It is clear that we will not agree.

We are not interested in rehashing old constitutional squabbles, and neither are Quebeckers, despite what my colleague says. The Supreme Court did its job and handed down a decision. We will continue to work on making Canada a strong and united country.

Transportation May 9th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, autoroutes 20 and 40, the Agence métropolitaine de transport and the Turcot interchange all have one thing in common: they all come under provincial jurisdiction.

My colleague does not understand federal and provincial jurisdictions. The hon. members on the other side of the House absolutely do not understand this.

We respect the provinces. We are going to continue working with the Province of Quebec and its representatives, and we are going to respect their choices.

Questions on the Order Paper May 9th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a) to (j), the president of the Western Canada Marine Response Corporation was invited by Port Metro Vancouver, which was hosting the Government of Canada’s world-class tanker safety system press conference. After being invited to participate in the event, Western Canada Marine Response volunteered to send the vessel to demonstrate its capacity to the public.

The Western Canada Marine Response Corporation routinely informs the public about its activities and the organization participated in this event at no cost to taxpayers.

The vessel had a brief soft landing on an uncharted sandbar amid the silt in the mouth of the Fraser River, moved away within minutes, and continued on without any damage. As per regulations, this was reported to Canada vessel traffic and Transport Canada so that others would be aware of this uncharted sandbar.

For more information, the member may contact the Western Marine Response Corporation.

Transport Canada May 6th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, the preamble is wrong. Transport Canada has for months encouraged the province to explore modifications of its ferry to facilitate docking. Redesigning the wharf would go beyond Transport Canada's responsibility for inspection and maintenance. Transport Canada has received a proposal from the province, and both governments are collaborating to ensure that work can begin as quickly as possible. We were working on this issue for months before she spoke about that problem.

Questions on the Order Paper May 3rd, 2013

Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a), noise issues are best handled at the local level. Local representatives and airport-based staff have intimate knowledge of regional matters and are better able to address local concerns.

Transport Canada provides oversight of this system, verifying that the policies and procedures work for the community, for the industry and for travelers. This is done in conjunction with third parties, including Health Canada, NAV Canada and the International Civil Aviation Organization, ICAO. Transport Canada also enforces airport noise abatement procedures and operating restrictions.

The applicable Canadian Aviation Regulations relating to noise can be found at the following link: http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/civilaviation/standards/aerodromeairnav-standards-noise-cars-906.htm.

Further information on noise can be found at the following link: http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/civilaviation/standards/aerodromeairnav-standards-noise-menu-923.htm.

With regard to (b), the publication entitled “Land Use in the Vicinity of Airports”, which provides guidance to airports to mitigate airport noise, is being updated. The current publication can be found at the following link: http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/civilaviation/publications/tp1247-menu-1418.htm.

With regard to (c), Transport Canada has not funded these types of projects.

With regard to (d), noise complaints must be addressed to the management of the airport where an aircraft is either landing or taking off. Noise issues are best handled at this level. Airport management establish locally based airport noise management programs to deal with noise from aircraft operating at that airport, which includes the receipt of noise complaints from adjacent communities. Questions of this nature should be addressed to the specific airport or airports.

Questions on the Order Paper May 3rd, 2013

Mr. Speaker, in March 2007, NAV Canada submitted terms of reference on the projected airspace changes to the Windsor-Toronto-Montreal, WTM, corridor. Transport Canada accepted the proposed changes in October 2008 and the changes were implemented on February 9, 2012.

With regard to (a), the Windsor-Toronto-Montreal, WTM, corridor was affected by the flight path changes. The following major airports were affected by these modifications: Toronto--Pearson, Ottawa, Montreal--Trudeau and Quebec City. Owing to the nature of these changes, airports in the vicinity of the major aerodromes were also affected, such as Windsor, London, Kitchener, Hamilton, Oshawa, Toronto--Buttonville, Toronto--Downsview and Toronto--City Centre). The proposal also affected flight training areas in the vicinity of Toronto--Pearson.

With regard to (b), members are requested to contact NAV Canada for this information.

With regard to (c), the purpose of these changes was to reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions as well as to improve cost efficiency.

With regard to (d), members are requested to contact NAV Canada for information on the consultations process.

Transport Canada May 2nd, 2013

Mr. Speaker, we have met our obligation to keep the dock equipment in working order as per the agreement that we have with the Province of Ontario. My department is working in partnership with the province to find a long-term solution to challenges posed by these historically low water levels. For months, my department has encouraged the province to explore modifications to its ferry to facilitate docking.

Transport Canada May 2nd, 2013

Mr. Speaker, passenger and crew safety aboard vessels is of the utmost importance to Transport Canada. My department is already in touch with this organization and we will very clearly follow this issue and ensure that safety is very strong there.

Health April 30th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, from the very beginning, even well before this issue became public, the Quebec Port Authority and its users were involved in all of the committees, studies and research.

As with all the ports across the country, we appointed competent people to run the Port of Québec. These ports are not being managed from Ottawa. The people on location in the community are managing these ports.

Is the hon. member saying that the CEO, Mario Girard, is not doing his job properly, when he is widely recognized as a good administrator?

Is he saying that Éric Dupont, the chairman of the board of directors, who is known worldwide as a great administrator, is not doing his job?

What is it that he does not understand? I do not know.