Denis Lebel

[Air Transportation, May 15th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the member will get the same answer that she has had since November.

Yesterday, we did in fact have a meeting with Quebec government ministers about a number of issues, including the Neuville airport.

I would like to point out that the mandate of the Minister of Transport is to promote the economic development of the aviation industry in a manner that is stable and safe. There is no question of safety in this case. Even if there were a regulatory change —and none is foreseen—it would in no way concern Neuville, as it is a matter that we consider settled. If the mayor did not believe in the airport, he would not have signed an agreement after proposing seven possible locations.

[Canada-U.S Relations, May 8th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the member referred to a project a number of times but never called it by name. There are many projects in Quebec and we respect the jurisdiction of the provinces, the states and the people that we work with.

Perhaps if we had a bit more information about the project, we could answer the question.

[Questions on the Order Paper, May 7th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a), (b) and (c), no regulatory permits are required for tankers to receive and ship oil and oil products from Westridge terminal. However, a licence to export the oil and oil products may be required, as set out in the National Energy Board Act and the associated National Energy Board Act Part VI (Oil and Gas) Regulations.

[Air Canada, April 27th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, our position on this matter is clear: Air Canada still has its maintenance centres in the cities the member mentioned.

The decision to shutdown Aveos is up to its owners. We are talking about two private, independent corporations.

Our position has been clear from the beginning. Since this matter is before the courts, for Aveos in particular, we have no further comments to make.

[Regional Economic Development, April 26th, 2012]

So, Mr. Speaker, development can be managed from Argenteuil and Laval, but not from Gatineau? That is very interesting indeed.

None of the Economic Development Agency of Canada's regional offices have been closed. None of the offices in the Quebec regions have been closed. The Laval and Longueuil operations have been centralized in Montreal. They are all already organized into an urban community for transportation and plenty of other things, and they have already been working together for years.

That being said, the money will still be there for all regions of Quebec. We will remain very active in all regions of Quebec, and I will continue to visit all regions of Quebec.

[Air Canada, April 26th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, our position has been clear from the beginning. As this matter concerns two private companies, we do not interfere in private companies. It was not the government that closed Aveos. The Aveos owners closed the companies. We will not be contemplating a bailout.

I will not comment any further because this is before the courts.

[Air Canada, April 26th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, of course the Conservative Party understands the impact that this has on workers, and it has already expressed its position very clearly. Legal opinions have been sought and provided. These are business decisions. Aveos was a private company and its owners made the decision to cease operations. This issue does not concern the government; it is a matter for a private company and its management.

I will make no further comment since the issue is before the courts.

[Regional Economic Development, April 25th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, to remind the hon. member of the spirit of Quebec, last week I was in Rouyn-Noranda and Victoriaville to make a series of announcements. My fellow ministers were also in other parts of Quebec. There is no Canada Economic Development office in Rouyn-Noranda or in Victoriaville, but that did not stop us from making the announcements.

We are streamlining administrative processes. This will not change the services that will be provided to the agency's clients. We will continue to do our job throughout Quebec, as we have been doing so well for the past several years.

[Rail Transportation, April 25th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to introducing legislation that would provide shippers with a service agreement template and dispute resolution guidelines.

I would like to thank Mr. Dinning for all the work that he and his team did on facilitating the review.

People have been waiting for a long time. They waited 13 years for the Liberals to do something. We are delivering.

[Air Canada, April 24th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, once again, in the preface to her question, the member made statements that are all wrong. It is thanks to our government, our minister and our work that Aveos workers were able to receive employment insurance benefits despite not having records of employment. How could it be otherwise?

We certainly sympathize with the workers who unfortunately lost their jobs, but once again, this is a private-sector matter that is before the courts. There will be no further comment.