Transport Committee on Dec. 7th, 2009

[Marcel Proulx, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

No.

What it says is in future, if there are new bridges in which the federal government is involved, they will be under the NCC.

[The Chair, Conservative, Merv Tweed]

Okay, great.

Mr. Bevington.

[Dennis Bevington, NDP, Western Arctic, NT]

If we pass this amendment, I think the NCC would have another obligation to raise money. Through the federal government the NCC already has to raise money to purchase properties. I don't think this extra burden is going to help them in their primary mandate.

I'm sure there's a capacity issue here within the NCC. They're not responsible for bridges now. The capacity to deal with these very important structures exists now within Public Works and Government Services. I don't see how this is going to help the NCC, and as such I'm not very much in favour of this.

[The Chair, Conservative, Merv Tweed]

Mr. Jean.

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

Very quickly, Mr. Chair, to Mr. Bélanger, what I was referring to when he suggested I was making a false argument is the one-third the province has responsibility for now. I think it's beyond our jurisdiction to impose that on them.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Then change it.

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

I'm just wondering, if Public Works already has a snowplow out and they're plowing up to the bridge, and then they stop at the bridge and allow another contractor to do it, it seems impractical, if that's indeed the case.

How do they do it? Is it per square foot?

I know from my own commercial experience, when we remove snow we do it from one particular area; we don't stop halfway. Public Works already has all the equipment to do that. At least I've seen it around town, or I thought I had.

[Marcel Proulx, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Have you seen snow plows?

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

I have seen lots of snow plows. I'm not sure who owns them, though.

[Marcel Proulx, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Not Public Works.

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

Are they contractors? That's what I'm wondering.

[Marcel Proulx, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

No. The agreement as far as the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge is concerned is that it's maintained by the provinces--Ontario and Quebec.

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

So it would just be a budgetary item.

[Marcel Proulx, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

That's right, and the costs are then shared.

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

Instead of Public Works paying it, it would be--

[Marcel Proulx, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

That's right. But then--

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

So why does it matter? They don't do the work--

[Marcel Proulx, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Well, it matters because the NCC would have the role of maintaining, of managing, of looking after these bridges instead of having two different groups.

But if it's too complicated, we'll never get to the end of this. We're going to be here until next summer, I guess.

[The Chair, Conservative, Merv Tweed]

Shall Liberal amendment L-3 carry?

[Marcel Proulx, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Well, there would need to be a slight amendment because--

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

He's already called the vote.

[The Chair, Conservative, Merv Tweed]

I know there was discussion on the amendment.

[Marcel Proulx, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Brian, let's not start playing games like that.

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

It's not a game. Let's--

[Marcel Proulx, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Okay, fine.

Call it.