House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2021, with 54% of the vote.
Government Appointments September 18th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, as you know, all Canadians recognize just how vitally important the Windsor-Detroit crossing is. Every single day, 10,000 trucks cross the Ambassador Bridge. We have authorized the replacement. I have been in touch with the mayor of Windsor. There are very specific conditions that will apply before the new bridge is there. Of course, our commitment to the Gordie Howe bridge is 100%, as was stated by our Prime Minister and the President last March in the White House.
Intergovernmental Relations June 16th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, we are very proud of our collaboration with the Province of Quebec, especially because of its maritime strategy. In fact, I spoke with Minister Jean D'Amour and Premier Couillard about the idea of divesting the ports. As hon. members know, they announced that they would be interested in five ports. Negotiations will get under way soon. The federal and provincial governments will be working on this together; I am sure that it will be a good partnership.
Government Appointments June 16th, 2017
Again, Mr. Speaker, I totally reject the premise of that question. Our selection of board members for the Port of Halifax, and any other port across the country, is based on an open, transparent competitive process that is merit-based and takes into account diversity, including gender diversity.
We are very proud of the people who we have selected for the Port of Halifax. They are a great group of people who have the interests of the Port of Halifax, the economy of Nova Scotia—
Government Appointments June 16th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, I have a bit of déjà vu here. I reject the premise of the question, of course, because we are taking a new open and transparent approach that is merit-based, that also takes into account diversity, including gender diversity.
The Port of Halifax is extremely important for Canada's economy. I am very proud of the five people who we have named because of their professionalism. This is good for the Port of Halifax.
Transportation Modernization Act June 15th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, it would take me a long time to explain the complexity of this bill, and I know I do not have very much time to do it. We look forward to the Alberta Wheat Commission appearing before committee and bringing up the devil in the details. That is part of it.
Second, I want to finish on a really high note. The president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture said, when this bill came out, “The entire package will create a more competitive environment while also providing an increased level of service for farmers.” This is good news for farmers.
Transportation Modernization Act June 15th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, I am not sure what question was asked there. The member talked about money for enforcement. If we establish that there must be enforcement of regulations, which by the way is Transport Canada's primary mandate, then we can use Transport Canada's budget to not only produce regulations but enforce them, and that is what we do.
Transportation Modernization Act June 15th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, once again, I must comment on my colleague’s last sentence, which leaves the impression that this bill involves 13 different pieces of legislation. I would remind him that 90% of the measures in this bill concern a single statute, the Canada Transportation Act.
I have another correction to make. I never said that I did not like questions. Instead I disputed the relevance of the questions on the specific bill we are currently debating. That is the issue.
Therefore, the fact that the questions and comments often had nothing to do with this bill convinced me that the opposition supports it.
Transportation Modernization Act June 15th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, the reason is that we want to introduce the new regulatory system for grain transportation. It has been welcomed by associations that represent farmers and that are responsible for grain in general. Here is a statement that was released when the bill was introduced:
The Alberta Wheat Commission announced that it was “pleased to see the Federal Government has introduced historic legislation that paves the way for permanent, long-term solutions to the rail transportation challenges that Canadian farmers have faced for decades.”
This is a long-term solution. I hope that all of us here are going to pass this legislation as quickly as possible so that we do not continue to use band-aid measures.
Transportation Modernization Act June 15th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, again, I have to explain to my hon. colleague what is actually in the bill.
The bill, very clearly, talks about joint ventures, which is what she is referring to. However, what she has failed to understand is that any decisions with respect to joint ventures will be in concert with the commissioner of competition. That part of the bill is very clear. It has to take place. We are concerned about anti-competitive behaviour. That is something that, unfortunately, my hon. colleague somehow seemed to miss.
Transportation Modernization Act June 15th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, I just want to correct my hon. colleague, once again, about the statements that he makes. When he talked about the passenger bill of rights he almost gave the impression that the CTA was going to go away and bring it back to the Minister of Transport who is then going to make the decisions about what is going to happen.
Actually, there is a very robust process in place where the Canadian Transportation Agency will be consulting with Canadians. In fact, it will be consulting with the airline industry. I can tell members that since we talked about creating a passenger rights bill, I have never heard as much support from Canadians for something that should have been done a long time ago.