Marc Garneau

[Transportation Modernization Act, June 15th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure where to start, but the bill has nothing to do with carbon pricing. It is a very specific set of measures that deal with the air traveller experience, with modernizing freight rail legislation, with bringing in locomotive audio and video recorders, and with making changes to the Coasting Trade Act with respect to cabotage.

Another example is that the member said he has read the bill, but he is asking where the specific measures with respect to the passenger bill of rights are. If the member had read the bill, he would know that what the bill does is that it mandates the Canadian Transportation Agency to produce the specifics of this passenger rights bill. Therefore, if one read that clearly, one would understand that when the legislation passes, the Canadian Transportation Agency will go away, do its homework, and come back with the specifics of the passenger rights bill. It is as simple as that.

[Transportation Modernization Act, June 15th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, to make it clear to my hon. colleague, I did not say that I did not like the kinds of questions that were being asked. I was pointing out that the questions really did not address the issues that are pertinent in the bill. They were talking about all sorts of other things. I would welcome a series of robust discussions about the issues that are actually in the bill.

I would also like to point out to my hon. colleague that the opposition cannot have its cake and eat it too. Those members are telling us that we are not passing enough bills, yet they are trying to hold things up now.

[Transportation Modernization Act, June 15th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, we believe in the process of allowing debate to occur on bills and allowing proper scrutiny of bills, but we also have a responsibility as the Government of Canada to move forward with legislation. That is why we are invoking time allocation today, after the bill has been debated sufficiently.

It is quite clear to me, from reading the transcripts of the questions that have been asked over the debate time that the opposition supports the principle of the bill in general. They may have some exceptions to it, and we welcome their opportunity to come forward when the time comes in committee.

The committee has agreed to meet a week before Parliament resumes so that we can expeditiously reach the point of royal assent with the bill. The bill will have an important influence in modernizing freight rail legislation, and a host of other things, such as providing a passenger rights bill, which, and I know members agree with me, all Canadians would like to see as soon as possible.

[Transportation Modernization Act, June 15th, 2017]

Madam Speaker, I am very glad to answer that question. What we are talking about here with long-haul interswitching is specifically to address captive shippers. Those shippers may have commodities such as potash, which is used for fertilizing, also lumber, coal, minerals, and grain, which is a very important part of it. It would apply to those commodities and for the full length of Canada, not just the western provinces and grain.

Imagine captive switchers in the north of Alberta or Saskatchewan and they only have one rail line. Now there is a mechanism in place to offer those captive shippers more competitive rates with respect to the moving of their products.

[Transportation Modernization Act, June 15th, 2017]

Madam Speaker, it is very clear from the feigned indignation that just came from that member that he has not actually read the bill.

The bill very clearly says that we are putting in place legislation that will ask the Canadian Transportation Agency to specify the specific rights and the numbers in terms of compensation. That is what this bill would do, and it will do it through a regulatory mechanism, so that if we make changes in the future, we do not have to come back with legislative changes.

I wish the member had actually read the bill.

[Transportation Modernization Act, June 15th, 2017]

Madam Speaker, the answer to that is very simple. I have been listening to what the opposition has been asking about. Instead of talking about the content of this bill, opposition members have been talking about things like carbon pricing and the Canadian wheat board, which is part of our past.

It is very clear to me that they do not have any substantive items to discuss with respect to this bill. We think it would be much more constructive for it to go to committee. I want to thank the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities for agreeing to come back to Parliament a week early in order to discuss this bill and hear from witnesses, and perhaps to make some constructive changes to this bill.

[Transportation Modernization Act, June 15th, 2017]

Madam Speaker, I would like to clarify for the member what has been done in the act. It is a complex act.

The extended interswitching of 160 kilometres was a temporary measure that was put into the Fair Rail for Grain Farmers Act. It was a temporary measure that was put in place because of the exceptional circumstances in 2013 and 2014. It has been replaced by something that is more comprehensive, called long-haul interswitching. It does apply to grain out to 1,200 kilometres, not 160 kilometres, but it also applies across the country and to all commodities.

This is the approach we have taken to fix something that has needed to be fixed for a long time. I will point out that after bringing in Bill C-30 in 2013-2014, the government had a golden opportunity to modernize freight rail legislation. Why did it not do it?

[Transportation Modernization Act, June 15th, 2017]

Madam Speaker, as I said, this is a bill that affects many aspects of transportation in Canada, and I am very proud of it. It covers passenger rights and experience. It modernizes rail freight, and also includes measures to increase rail safety with the use of voice and video recorders.

As we know, transportation is a vast sector. The fact that my colleague is talking about navigation on Lake Saint-Pierre and high-frequency rail, while other MPs have talked about things like the Canadian Wheat Board, clearly demonstrates that they are not focused on this bill because they have no objection to it, which is why it is important for Canadians that we move forward as quickly as possible.

[Transportation Modernization Act, June 15th, 2017]

Madam Speaker, actually I have been in a rush for a long time to get this bill passed, but there was an enormous amount of important consultation that needed to take place in order to put together a very solid bill, one that I know opposition members support.

I should clarify one thing: 90% of the legislative changes actually deal with one act, the Canada Transportation Act. This is not an omnibus bill.

[Port of Churchill, June 15th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, we as a government always stand ready to provide assistance to any province or territory that requests assistance in the event of a natural disaster, such as flooding. The Minister of Public Safety has been in contact with the Government of Manitoba to make that offer clear to it, and we are monitoring the situation. From the Transport Canada point of view, we are developing a plan to make sure that both the Port of Churchill and the airport are capable of addressing the needs with respect to supplies for the people of Churchill.