Thank you very much.
I will resume the interpretation I was giving the witnesses previously.
Mr. Fruitman, you mentioned that changes could be made. And Mr. McKenna, you said that some measures in the bill could be amended. The problem is that this is a private member's bill. We can't do whatever we want with the bill.
Let me give you an example. The Liberals and New Democrats are going too far in the Air Cubana tragedy, which affected a number of Quebeckers. I call it a tragedy because in March 2008, travellers remained on the tarmac at the Ottawa airport for several hours because their plane had been diverted to Ottawa because of the weather. The Ottawa airport authority told us that Air Cubana hadn't paid its dues, while Air Cubana said that it had. Ultimately, the passengers were the ones to pay the price. What is important to me is that the passengers are treated fairly.
I must tell you that I submitted to the legislative clerks in the House of Commons an amendment that reads as follows: That Bill C-310, in Clause 5, be amended by adding after line 26 on page 4 the following:
(2.1) If the air carrier required to provide services or compensation under subsections (1) or (2) is of the opinion that the delay results from a measure or decision taken by an airport authority, the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA), NAV CANADA or the Canada Border Services Agency, it may submit the matter to the Department of Transport, which shall determine the responsibility of the organization in question and its obligation to refund the air carrier the amounts it had to pay out under subsections (1) or (2).
I felt this was straightforward. If passengers ever had such an experience, like the one experienced by Air Cubana passengers, they should be compensated. If the airline is not responsible, whoever is will reimburse it.
I received the opinion of the legislative clerk of the House of Commons: my motion is out of order because this changes the meaning of the private member's bill. It is not a government bill. I want you to understand this, Mr. Fruitman. I agree that we should protect consumers, but my hands are tied because this is a private member's bill, which can only be subject to very minor amendments. The majority of Mr. McKenna' s proposals and what you might propose will be found out of order by the legislative clerk of the House of Commons. This is not a government bill. Only government bills can be amended by committee, changed, improved, etc. A private member's bill is limited to its initial intent, and that is the problem we have here.
You can blame me, you can say that I am bending to pressure by lobbyists —which is not the case and never has been —but I will never agree to saying things that I cannot legally say. I am not entitled to make the amendments that I want to make to this bill because it is a private member's bill.
Whether Mr. Byme likes it or not, the government responded to his motion. It agreed to the plan put forward by the air carriers. There was a motion, the government accepted the agreement signed by the air carriers, but it decided not to table a bill. That is the government's decision, but we cannot do whatever we want with this private member's bill. I would like you to tell me what you would like to change and that you understand my position. Do you have any comments or questions?