House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2015, with 33% of the vote.
Rail Transportation November 18th, 2011
Madam Speaker, as with all other important files, the owners of these businesses and organizations have a responsibility. And the owners usually assume that responsibility. Of course, we are aware of this file and we will continue to undertake the necessary analyses.
Transport Canada November 17th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the hon. member that, in Quebec, mayors fall under the jurisdiction of the Quebec ministry of municipal affairs, regions and land occupancy. We have always been in the habit of respecting the jurisdictions of each sector. I am happy to speak to the minister, Laurent Lessard. He would be happy to speak to the mayors of all the regions of Quebec who are under his responsibility. With regard to transportation safety as it relates to airports, Transport Canada's main role is to ensure the security of airports and the safety of all travellers. We will continue to do this.
Infrastructure November 16th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, as usual this member is mixing up jurisdictions. He now wants us, rather than the City of Montreal, to make plans for Montrealers. The federal government owns two bridges and 50% of another bridge in the Montreal area. We will manage what falls under our jurisdiction and let the province manage what falls under its jurisdiction, which he does not understand. He always wants to mix everything up. We are working with facts and not with hypotheses about what will happen in 10 years. We will build a new bridge and we are investing in the existing bridge to make it safer.
Infrastructure November 16th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, the difference between them and us is that they want to close the bridge and we want to keep it open and work on it to keep it safe. That is the only difference.
Those members do not care about the population. They care about political ideas. We are doing the job.
Infrastructure November 15th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, playing politics at the expense of the people of the greater Montreal area is not really our style. Just yesterday at lunchtime, I was working with the mayors of Montreal, Longueuil and Brossard. Together, we are continuing to work to ensure that the Champlain Bridge is safe and that traffic is flowing smoothly.
While this member wants to scare the public, we are doing the work and making sure things get done. Not only are we making sure that the existing bridge is safe, we are also going to build a new one.
Infrastructure November 15th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, as usual, our government is working based on plans, analyses and results. The hon. member is asking us about our plan for the Champlain Bridge. We have invested $380 million in this infrastructure. Does he think that we would have done that without a plan? Come on.
Questions on the Order Paper November 3rd, 2011
Mr. Speaker, as part of Canada’s economic action plan, Infrastructure Canada is responsible for delivering the $4 billion infrastructure stimulus fund and the $500 million top-up to the communities component of the building Canada fund. These two programs benefited from the government’s decision to extend the stimulus construction deadline from March 31, 2011, to October 31, 2011. Two additional programs not managed by Infrastructure Canada, the knowledge infrastructure program and recreational infrastructure Canada, also benefited from the extension.
Although the seventh report to Canadians was released on January 31, 2011, it was finalized ahead of this date. At the time the report was finalized, provinces, territories, municipalities, and other partners had not yet submitted, as per the conditions of the extension, their requests for extending their projects beyond the original March 31, 2011, deadline to October 31, 2011. Details are presented on page 65 of the seventh report.
As such, figures on the number of projects seeking extension or the value of the federal contribution under Infrastructure Canada’s two programs were not included in the seventh report to Canadians. This was noted on page 66 of the seventh report: “Details on the value and number of projects that will be extended into 2011-12 will be known closer to the end of 2010-11 following receipt of estimates from provinces, territories, municipalities or other partners.”
The Environment October 19th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, the premier has already had some discussions with the minister of this government. We gave him the answer we gave here in the House. Transport Canada's role is to ensure that Canada's waterways provide safe navigation, free of ship source pollution. We have determined that the MV Miner is not polluting the marine environment and is not a threat to navigation. That is provincial jurisdiction, and we will continue to work with the province.
Transport October 19th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, that MP already knows I will work hard for a new bridge between Windsor and Detroit. He knows it is long. We have a lot of démarche to do and we have a lot of work with the U.S.A. and now we want to be getting something for Chicago. How many years does the member think it will take?
For now, the study has been received by the government. We will study it and then the province of Ontario will name its new minister of transport and we will discuss it with him or her.
Transport October 19th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, we received the report and are reviewing it. This report was funded by three partners: the Government of Quebec, the Government of Ontario and the Government of Canada. And, as is appropriate, we will wait for the Province of Ontario to appoint its next transportation minister. We will speak with these people and a decision will be made public.