Evidence of meeting #39 for Transport, Infrastructure and Communities in the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was transport.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4:10 p.m.
Conservative
Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC
Exactly, and that's why I'd like to understand what you mean by “limited focused audits”, because that's not the terminology in the bill. The word “limited” wasn't in there.
4:10 p.m.
As an Individual
What I am saying is that an audit that is a focused audit is a limited audit. It's not a general audit of a carrier's operations. The focus is on a specific area. That's what “focused” means.
4:10 p.m.
Conservative
Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC
Okay, but you're not using the word “limited” in terms of limiting the number of audits, are you?
4:10 p.m.
As an Individual
I am using the word “limited” in the sense that it's a focused audit, as opposed to what is a normal audit.
4:10 p.m.
Conservative
Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC
So you're not suggesting that the number of audits would necessarily be reduced below an acceptable standard.
4:10 p.m.
As an Individual
I'm suggesting the national audit program has been, for all practical purposes, limited. They've cancelled it. You've just heard Mr. Julian read the three sections that affect the national audit program.
4:10 p.m.
Conservative
Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC
I'm a little bit puzzled, I will say, because we've had testimony from numerous witnesses, and save and except for witnesses from two of the inspectors' unions, all of the other witnesses were supportive of Bill C-6. They had suggested some fine tuning, and we're looking at--
4:15 p.m.
As an Individual
Would one of the witnesses be Captain Boucher from the Air Canada Pilots Association?
February 28th, 2007 / 4:15 p.m.
Conservative
Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC
He was one of the witnesses who actually spoke supportively of Bill C-6.
4:15 p.m.
As an Individual
Captain Boucher phoned me this morning and expressed some concern that only half his message appears to have gotten across, at least to the media, and that is the part that they support SMS.
As I stated in my initial remarks, I don't think there's anybody in the world who doesn't support SMS, but he is concerned about the other part of their review of SMS and the way it's operating with Air Canada. It still requires regulatory oversight, and that's what he told me this morning over the telephone.
4:15 p.m.
Conservative
Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC
We actually asked questions of the various witnesses, as to whether they saw Bill C-6 as removing regulatory oversight and accountability from the minister's office to the various airline companies. The large majority of the witnesses said no, and they certainly hoped that wouldn't be the case.
So again—
4:15 p.m.
As an Individual
Well, it depends what agenda they're coming from, I suppose.
4:15 p.m.
Conservative
Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC
Well, it's unfortunate that there are agendas at play here, and that's always my concern, because ultimately it's the safety of the travelling public that's the most important factor.
4:15 p.m.
As an Individual
That's my only concern. As a matter of fact, I have a personal interest in it. Six weeks after we commenced the Dryden hearings, my younger brother was killed in an air crash east of Yellowknife, and since that time I've had a very serious interest in aviation safety.
4:15 p.m.
Conservative
Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC
I can tell you I have as well...because I have a personal friend, a constituent of mine, who lost a son within the last two years in the Georgian Bay accident, with which I'm sure you're familiar as well.
4:15 p.m.
As an Individual
Mr. Price has been in contact with me, as have many people who are concerned with what is happening with this bill.
4:15 p.m.
Conservative
Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC
That's correct.
So for us as a committee, and for the government, safety is the paramount consideration here.
I'm just suggesting to you that we've had numerous witnesses who have reviewed the bill very carefully. In fact, we've had two pilots' unions before us for whom, of course, safety for their pilots is critical, as well as the safety of their passengers. They have stated on the record that they actually support Bill C-6 as being a significant step forward in improving public safety.
4:15 p.m.
As an Individual
They do, but I would point out that both of them at some point in their presentation said they still supported the presence of regulatory oversight.
4:15 p.m.
Conservative
Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC
Yes, absolutely.
And I'm suggesting to you that Bill C-6 actually doesn't reduce regulatory oversight. It makes it more efficient and makes it more focused, which is the term you used. I wouldn't necessarily use the word “limited”, but certainly I think we can all agree that the legislation refers to focused audits.
4:15 p.m.
As an Individual
It seems to me, based on my experience with the Dryden inquiry, that the most effective way of assuring aviation safety is to have pilot proficiency checks conducted by inspectors in-flight, to have aviation inspectors checking on maintenance procedures of airlines, etc., not relying on the airlines themselves to carry out these functions with minor auditing, which certainly seems to be the direction this program is taking.