Transport Committee on May 30th, 2018

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

If I can get your indulgence, I could read the votes out now or would you like to have a chance to ask a few more questions? We have 25 minutes on the clock, which means we should leave in 20 minutes. Do we want to take 10 minutes to try to get a few more questions answered? We can take one question from each party.

Mr. Chong.

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

I just have a brief comment.

The minister said that the previous government caused costs for the project to increase because of delays. I think that's partly true. The reality is that the Auditor General said the cost increased by some $306 million because of delays in starting and approving this project. Those delays started in 1999. The first evidence that the bridge was not going to last as long as it should have began in 1999, so both previous governments have their share of blame.

The $306 million in additional costs created because of the delay in approving this project by the previous Conservative government pales in comparison with the over $3 billion hole that the Auditor General estimates has been put into the fiscal framework because of a political decision by the current government to eliminate tolls on this bridge. I wanted to put that on the record as a point of fact, in order to put the minister's comments into context.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

All right.

We move over to Mr. Sikand.

[Gagan Sikand, Liberal, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

I have a quick question with respect to the funding that was announced to have a new fleet for VIA Rail.

Does VIA or Transport Canada actually know what the cost of the fleet will be?

[Michael Keenan, Deputy Minister, Department of Transport]

I'd defer to our colleagues from VIA Rail to answer that question.

[Jacques Fauteux, Director, Government and Community Relations, VIA Rail Canada Inc.]

We're going to proceed with our competitive process at this time. The procurement process started in April of this year, and we intend to have an RFQ sent to bidders from Canada and to international bidders later this summer.

It would be presumptuous on my part to tell you what the cost is as we try to make a competitive process and ensure that we get the most value for the taxpayer, as well as for the consumers who are going to get on board the trains.

[Gagan Sikand, Liberal, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

Could you please provide some insight on the discussion around the frequency of high-speed...?

[Jacques Fauteux]

I believe you're mentioning high-frequency rail?

[Gagan Sikand, Liberal, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

Yes.

[Jacques Fauteux]

Deputy?

[Michael Keenan]

I may take the high-frequency rail here on the part of Transport Canada.

Madam Chair, as the member implies in the question, the value proposition around high-frequency rail is to have a significant increase in the number of times the train goes between key cities in the Quebec City—Toronto corridor and to have it operate on dedicated track so that it has both higher frequency and higher reliability.

It's difficult to say how much more frequent it will be, simply because we are still in the period of examining and doing due diligence on the business case for high-frequency rail. The government has allocated some funds in the 2018 budget to advance the technical and financial analysis around that plan and is seeking to bring all of the facts together for a decision later this year, if possible. That decision, once it's made, would among other things define exactly how many more high-frequency trains would be involved in any plan or decision of the government to proceed.

[Gagan Sikand, Liberal, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

I know I'm out of time, so a yes or no would suffice.

Is there a significant difference between the current fleet and the one that's going to be phased in?

[Michael Keenan]

It strikes me as a remarkable difference. I'd say emphatically yes, in environmental performance, in accessibility, in reliability. The plan is to replace the entire train sets, both the locomotives and the passenger cars. It's the single biggest investment in VIA rolling stock in, I think, living memory.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Mr. Nantel.

[Pierre Nantel, NDP, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

My question is for Mr. Keenan.

What are the chances of using local suppliers for this renewal? I know that, in the United States, the federal government can require that local suppliers are used for up to 65% of an initiative. What commitment to our suppliers can we hope for in Canada?

[Michael Keenan]

I'm sorry.

VIA Rail is managing the procurement, so I would defer to them.

[Jacques Fauteux]

I did not mention this when I first answered, but I should point out that we are very happy to finally get a new fleet that will improve passenger accessibility and comfort.

As to your question, sir, in the interest of competition, we would like as many bidders as possible in order to maximize our options. I would also point out that we have to comply with international trade agreements, which means an international bidding process.

We held a “market day” where we met a number of companies that want to offer their services to us, including Canadian companies.

[Pierre Nantel, NDP, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

I understand what you are saying, of course. As someone who uses VIA Rail every week, I understand that very well and am very pleased. It is only natural, however, to expect local content in major contracts such as this. Can we expect the government to support you in that requirement, either through Mr. Keenan or anyone else around the table?

That is the case in aeronautics: a large number of bidders have to meet certain quotas.

I know there are certain things you cannot disclose, but I think we all expect that major public investments such as this one will have local benefits. That is an expectation for all projects. We hope that Canadian citizens will benefit, over and above comfort and greater reliability. We all know how old the current fleet is, which is even a bit funny at times, but the service is excellent.

Mr. Keenan, the director general of environmental policy for Transport Canada is a member of the advisory group on the national zero-emission vehicle strategy for 2018. Can you report on the work of that group, which were discussing earlier with Mr. Garneau?

[Michael Keenan]

As the minister said today, we are working on a national zero-emission vehicle strategy with provincial governments and experts in the field.

We have a number of partners and we're moving forward—we've committed to this publicly—and we are certainly trying to bring the national ZEV strategy together in a timely manner. It's difficult to say exactly when it will arrive.

There is a very high level of co-operation and very deep technical work that is being carried out in partnership with provincial governments through the existing mechanisms of the federal and provincial ministers of transportation.

We continue to work at trying to bring it to fruition as soon as possible.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much, Mr. Keenan.

We will go to Ms. Block.

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I'll try to be very quick, because I know my time is brief.

On Monday, May 28, the Canadian Transportation Agency's CEO, Mr. Streiner, announced that a comprehensive consultation process would start on the new passenger bill of rights.

After the Emerson report, after consultations on those consultations, the consultation that would have taken place before Bill C-49 was introduced, after this committee reviewed Bill C-49, after the Senate reviewed Bill C-49 and gave it the same scrutiny, and after the attempts by both members on this side of the table and in the Senate to amend Bill C-49 to put some sort of frame to the bill of rights, we're now conducting consultations once again on a passenger bill of rights.

I just want to know if anybody could tell me how much this consultation is going to cost the taxpayers.

[Michael Keenan]

I would add one small comment before I turn it over to my colleague from the Canadian Transportation Agency.

Very shortly after Bill C-49 received royal assent, Minister Garneau and the CEO of the Canadian Transportation Agency launched consultations on the details for the regulations that are now possible because of the legislative framework put in the bill.

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK]

Thank you, Mr. Keenan.

I do have a question, and that is, how much will these consultations cost Canadian taxpayers?

[Michael Keenan]

Excuse me. I'll turn it over to my colleague from the Canadian Transportation Agency.

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK]

Thank you.