Finance Committee on Oct. 22nd, 2012

[Chris Aylward]

First of all, I'm not a union boss; I'm a national vice-president of my union. I was elected the same as all of you were. We believe in social justice everywhere.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Okay, thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Adler.

Mr. Marston is next, please.

[Wayne Marston, NDP, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

I just heard Mr. Hoback use the term, “It's embarrassing”. Yes, it is embarrassing, as far as I'm concerned. It's troubling.

All of us have personal opinions about people, maybe even those who wind up being our witnesses here. When witnesses come before us, these labour leaders are duly elected through the processes of the union movement, which is guaranteed by our charter. To have them come before a parliamentary committee like this to be insulted is embarrassing. As was just pointed out, they're elected by the same people who elect us.

Why in the world do we have to get into insulting them? It's beyond me.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

I hear a point of order. Is it Mr. Hoback or Mr. Adler?

[Mark Adler, Conservative, York Centre, ON]

I have a point of order.

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

Like us, if they are elected, they can be criticized and challenged, just as the voters will challenge us.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

That's actually a point of debate, not a point of order. Mr. Marston, continue, please.

[Wayne Marston, NDP, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

Yes, they can be challenged, but they can be challenged in a more dignified way than what I've been seeing here.

Anyway, Mr. Aylward, I don't want to eat up the time here—

[Mark Adler, Conservative, York Centre, ON]

I have a point of order.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Go ahead on a point of order, Mr. Adler.

[Mark Adler, Conservative, York Centre, ON]

Mr. Marston said that these are personal opinions. These are on the Public Service Alliance of Canada website—

[Wayne Marston, NDP, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

That's not what I'm referring to—

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Order.

Is this a point of order or a point of debate?

[A voice]

It's debate.

[Mark Adler, Conservative, York Centre, ON]

I'd prefer a point of order.

[Voices]

Oh, oh!

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

What I'm hearing is a point of debate and not a point of order.

When a member has the floor, let's not have comments from either side of the table. Mr. Marston has the floor; let's let him have his question.

[Wayne Marston, NDP, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

I'd like to turn to our witness. Since we've drawn attention to Mr. Aylward again, we'll go a little further.

It's my understanding that the 2012 budget already slashed 10%. There are concerns about how that's affected air safety. There are concerns how the self-management system is affecting things; we've raised that in the House. Transport Canada apparently is changing the way it monitors air carriers and their compliance to the point where we're understanding that at least 11 or so of the inspectors are fearing the loss of their jobs.

Would you like to expand on that, sir?

[Chris Aylward]

Mr. Marston, because I don't have the information at my fingertips, and to make sure we get it right for the committee members, if it's okay, I would like to ask our people who actually represent those members to provide the committee members with that answer, in writing, for the record.

[Wayne Marston, NDP, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

That would certainly be appreciated. If those cuts are that deep, it's important for us to know that as a committee.

I believe the same can be said for Fisheries and Oceans. We're hearing that B.C. has lost a lot of its inspection capacity and that the habitat offices in Prince George and Smithers have been cut back. When you consider that's the area where there are discussions about a potential pipeline and the impact on those habitats, it would seem to me that it would be all that more important to have inspectors there.

Again, would that be an area you'd like to expand on, or perhaps supply more information to us?

[Chris Aylward]

The cuts to Fisheries and Oceans in British Columbia in 2012 have left the department with half the habitat staff that it had a decade ago. The fisheries habitat offices that are closing, and those in Prince George and Smithers, would have taken the lead in assessing the Northern Gateway pipeline's impact on fish habitat.

The government says that science will guide decisions about the pipeline, but it's cutting the programs that will actually provide the science.

[Wayne Marston, NDP, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

How is my time, Mr. Chair?

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

You have just under two minutes.

[Wayne Marston, NDP, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

On the prairie shelterbelt program, my understanding, again from some notes I've made here, is that it's been in effect since 1901. It has been producing and distributing tree seedlings for planting on agricultural land in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Peace River, B.C. It has provided over 650 million seedlings to more than 700,000 farmers since its inception and still sends out more than three million trees a year.

You might be surprised, but the reason this struck me is that I planted trees—it feels like a hundred years ago—when I was young. That reforestation is so important across the country because of the soil erosion and the damage that can be done.

Do you have more information on that than what I've been able to glean?

[Chris Aylward]

In respect to that specific issue, the conservation approach costs very little. It protects crops from wind and reduces soil erosion and soil moisture evaporation.

Again, the cuts to this particular program will have a devastating effect. It makes no sense to us as to why this program is being cut.