Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Currently the act reads that
The Minister may designate any person whom the Minister considers qualified as a railway safety inspector or a screening officer for the purposes of this Act
What Mr. Bevington is proposing is that it be changed to read “employee,”—of the crown—“as defined by section 2 of the Government Employees Compensation Act” and that only employees of the crown would be railway safety inspectors.
Mr. Bevington reminds us, and you will recall, Mr. Chair, that the Union of Canadian Transportation Employees came forward and stated their concern about having inspectors who could be appointed who were employed by the railways, which creates a conflict of interest. This would very clearly stipulate that employees of the crown—government employees—are the only ones who could be safety inspectors and thus remove that potential conflict of interest that exists.
On behalf of Mr. Bevington, I will move that.