Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Minister, for being here.
I have a question on the Auditor General's report to start; then I'm going to move to my favourite topic, the Windsor-Detroit corridor, as usual.
With regard to the Auditor General's report, I find Mr. Ranger's comments really naive. To expect business people basically to have the best mechanics and pilots and leave it at that is not acceptable. There are other employees who use those planes as well. Unfortunately, there is a record in Canada; that's why we have a national day of mourning, and there's an international one. It's because workers are sometimes put at risk because people cut corners. Tragically, we've had some business aircraft crashes that have actually lost the lives of employees. I'm not suggesting that corners were cut there, but it's a significant problem.
You're right--the Auditor General did not look at safety management systems. I've never been naive enough to believe that alone is what's needed to be the best system. There has to be oversight. That's what the Auditor General identified. What I'd like to know from your department is why the national audit program was cancelled as we move into transition to a new program of safety management systems. Why was the old traditional model broken and discarded before we knew what the real risks were?