Finance Committee on June 4th, 2026

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Okanagan Lake West—South Kelowna, BC]

Speaking of data, are you going to be seeking information around airport improvement fees and their debt levels? Right now, it seems to me, Minister, that it's awfully strange that you're more interested in looking at the valorization of these assets for other means, rather than fixing the problems in Canadian airports, such as CBSA computer shortages and NavCan labour shortages.

Also, we have the issue of airport baggage screening and non-passenger screening requirements, which are your direct responsibility, Minister.

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

There is no hierarchy of issues to resolve and we are able to deal with all of those issues in parallel.

We can drill down into any one of them if you wish.

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Okanagan Lake West—South Kelowna, BC]

Let's start with that.

What are you doing right now in regard to Pearson's screening requirements? It's Transport Canada that has the lead on that. How is it that people right now are being detained, arrested and then caught up in CBSA's system forevermore for something they didn't do? It is your responsibility to make sure bad people can't get those jobs and then stay in those jobs.

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

There's a lot in that question.

CBSA, of course, reports to the Minister of Public Safety, with whom I work, obviously, very closely. The fact is that we revoke these credentials regularly. We have a constant system of ongoing revocation of credentials. We take this very seriously.

As you know, the system that we implement requires us to assess the risk to aviation safety. I've asked my officials to examine whether that is an appropriate test, but I would point out that, substantially, many of the people who were the objects of interest in the recent television report all had their credentials revoked.

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Okanagan Lake West—South Kelowna, BC]

Minister, this is the first time you've publicly spoken about this. You are the minister responsible. What one concrete measure have you done beyond talking to your officials and saying that you can do everything at the same time?

As far as I can see, Minister, you are a part-time transport minister and a full-time House leader.

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

Don't tell my wife that. She has noted that we spend a lot more—

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Okanagan Lake West—South Kelowna, BC]

Minister, I'd like you to actually.... This is serious. Be serious.

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

Well, it's not serious to call me a “part-time transport minister”. That's the part that's unserious.

The fact is that we have gone very deep in looking at this system. This is a system that has been built up over—

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Okanagan Lake West—South Kelowna, BC]

Give one concrete measure, please, Minister, beyond talking to your officials.

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

We're not going to do something where we haven't considered all of these very intricate and delicate interconnected systems. We are not going to do anything rash, but I can tell you that in federal transportation infrastructure, security is something that preoccupies me and that I spend a lot of time dealing with.

[The Chair, Liberal, Karina Gould]

Thank you, Minister. That concludes the time for this round.

Mr. Lavoie, you now have the floor for six minutes.

[Steeve Lavoie, Liberal, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Minister, thank you for joining us for the next full hour. I'm very pleased that you're here.

Last November, you came to Quebec City to visit our port and our airport. It had been more than 10 years since a minister of transport had visited the port. That shows the importance you attach to these facilities, which are important in Quebec. I'd like to take the opportunity to remind you of the importance of the Quebec City airport for Quebec and, above all, for the Beauport—Limoilou riding. That airport is making record profits. Its growth is incredible.

The port is also important. We learned this week that certain infrastructure will be rehabilitated and that there will be projects for the supply chain and the tramway. We have big plans for the tramway, as well as for all the rail facilities that will come with high-speed rail, or HSR. For the people of Quebec City, Quebec City isn't only a point of departure, but also a point of arrival. That makes it very important for the people of Quebec City. Thank you for taking the time to come visit us. It means a lot to people.

Let us go back to the Quebec City airport. In May 2026, less than a month ago, it announced that it had truly returned to record passenger levels. According to data from 2019—before the pandemic—the record number was 1.7 million passengers. However, the airport has reached 1.8 million passengers. It's growing.

One of the measures in the economic update is the review of Canadian airport infrastructure. What economic benefits does the government hope to gain from this review, particularly for growing airports, such as the one in Quebec City?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

Thank you very much.

I think we see the importance of mobility itself, as well as the opportunities that mobility and transportation offer for employment and economic growth. We know that economic growth follows the development of modes of transportation.

What impressed me the most at Jean‑Lesage International Airport in Quebec City was people's vision for investing in projects, sometimes small projects. I often emphasize this in my discussions with local authorities. We can sometimes invest a little bit to achieve big gains.

Their vision also included the possibility of adding a new gate. Adding a single gate can make it possible to accommodate a different type of aircraft, a new route and a new airline. I was struck and impressed by the vision of sustainable growth that local managers in Quebec City were taking about.

[Steeve Lavoie, Liberal, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

You're talking about vision, and, funnily enough, you're talking about small gestures, but the Quebec City airport prides itself on being the largest of Canada's small airports.

The airport's president and CEO, Stéphane Poirier, is doing an extraordinary job. I don't know if he's following our proceedings right now, but let us assume he is. If we were to look ahead 10 or 20 years, what would you like to see for a piece of regional infrastructure so important for Quebec City and its development?

If we look at all the infrastructure, whether it's the HSR or the tramway, we realize that in Quebec City, we're lucky. We have a port, an airport, rail infrastructure and highways; in short, we have everything needed to succeed.

Where do you see an airport like the one in Quebec City in your vision for the next 10 or 20 years?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

Indeed, we can see the opportunities offered by the development of transport, or at least the objective of projects such as the public transit project.

I would say that, in Quebec City, intermodality is going to be the key. When we develop the Alto high-speed rail, we'll run it through Quebec City. It will connect not only to the public transit system, but also to the existing rail system, the airport facilities and the highways, as you also mentioned, which are an integral part of the system.

I think we're going to have something very interesting, not only for the people of Quebec City, but also for those in the surrounding regions, such as eastern Quebec and the Lower St. Lawrence, Charlevoix and so on. Tourism and business opportunities will be easier to develop. It's also possible to imagine that—I know this is a sensitive subject—people could one day leave Quebec City at 5 p.m. to go to the Bell Centre and come back the same evening.

Another thought is that if someone lives in Trois‑Rivières, they'll be able to take a flight from Quebec City very early in the morning to a sun destination. People will also be able to get on a high-speed train and arrive at the airport shortly afterward to catch their flights. That will be a game changer for the people in Quebec City and Quebec.

[Steeve Lavoie, Liberal, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Absolutely.

Having worked with business people for the past 25 years, I know this is what they need. If we want to develop Quebec City, we have to attract investments to Quebec City. We want to bring in workers and industrial parks. If we want to bring in buses, we need to get a tramway that connects to the bus network. I really like your vision for intermodality.

In the economic update, the government also mentioned the economic potential of airport lands. Quebec City has a lot of land. This has been under discussion for a long time. When I was at the Chambre de commerce et d'industrie de Québec, this was something that Quebec had in its vision. It was wondering how to develop that, because that land is unused.

What is your long-term vision for airport lands? Take Quebec City, for example.

[The Chair, Liberal, Karina Gould]

Excuse me, Mr. Lavoie, that concludes your time.

[Steeve Lavoie, Liberal, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Karina Gould]

Mrs. DeBellefeuille, you have the floor for six minutes.

[Claude DeBellefeuille, Bloc, Beauharnois—Salaberry—Soulanges—Huntingdon, QC]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

Welcome, Minister. It's a pleasure to be here today to benefit from your presence.

I don't know if you and your team had the opportunity to listen to Professor Ebrahimi's testimony on the issue of airports. He wonders whether it should be a cash cow or more of a lever for economic development. I think you know him, this professor. He's quite well known in Quebec, in Canada and abroad for his research findings. He wasn't against privatizing airports. He said that there was some thought needed beforehand. He felt that the government hadn't done that. Before privatizing them, it might be better to have an idea of the direction we want our airports to take.

In my colleague's riding of Côte-Nord—Kawawachikamach—Nitassinan, there are many concerns about moving forward with privatization without really thinking beforehand about what we want. I don't know if you have seen that in the press review. The region already isn't served very well. People on the Côte‑Nord and elsewhere have expressed a lot of concerns.

Why do you want to privatize the airports?

Do you think the private sector, whose goal is to make money, will manage the airports better?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

I think we owe it to ourselves to go through the process. Even at this very preliminary stage, it's clear to me that these are all infrastructures for which we'll have to study tailor-made solutions. There's no—

[Claude DeBellefeuille, Bloc, Beauharnois—Salaberry—Soulanges—Huntingdon, QC]

There's no common strategy for all the infrastructure.

Is that right?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

The stage of development, the debt, the housing stock, the revenues or the revenue sources of the various airports are all different. That means we'll have to study them one by one and propose solutions.

We're at a very preliminary stage, and if it can reassure the people in the Côte‑Nord area, as well as those in Castlegar and Comox, before we start a dialogue with those regions, we'll have to go through inevitably busier airports.

[Claude DeBellefeuille, Bloc, Beauharnois—Salaberry—Soulanges—Huntingdon, QC]

Professor Ebrahimi also told us that the most lucrative airports, the ones that perform the best across the board, are public airports. That makes it reassuring to hear you say that private airports aren't the cure-all. They won't solve every problem, because we know that there are public airports elsewhere in the world, and they're the best.

That said, I would like to move on to intermodality. You know how attached I am to the maritime sector. Your government has announced a program that's going to fund 50% of the cost of transporting Canadian steel by rail. I was surprised. I asked you about this in the House, and I know that you're currently thinking about a solution. In fact, this puts the maritime sector at a disadvantage.

As you know, there are currently 122 Canadian vessels transporting steel, and their owners are confused as to why they would be disadvantaged because rail gets 50% funding. We're more of the belief, Minister, that if you want to help steel transportation, which is a good thing, maybe you should let the customer choose their mode of transportation.

Is the program in effect? Has the money started to be paid to the rail industry?

When I talk about the rail sector, I'm talking about Canadian National Railway or Canadian Pacific Railway. I don't think these companies need financial assistance.

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

Indeed, I would like the choice to be neutral, meaning that people can choose their mode of transportation. Obviously, there are well-beaten paths, even if it's by sea. Steel mills should make their own choices. My goal is for the choice of mode of transportation to stay neutral.

It's more complicated to implement a program like this than one would think, even for rail. We're laying the foundation for a system that would ensure neutrality in terms of choice.