Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
I am pleased to speak to this proposed amendment because it allows me to recall some of the important considerations we heard when the committee studied Bill C-10.
First of all, we had the opportunity to hear from the minister. He told us about Bill C-10, but he was not able to explain the urgent need to act and to pass Bill C-10. Why is the government in such a hurry to pass Bill C-10? Even today, members asking the question have had no answer.
Why is it important to understand the urgency on the part of the government in acting on this matter? It is simple. A number of the groups who testified have told us that it was important for them for Bill C-10 not to be passed in haste, too quickly, without obtaining guarantees in some form. There must be a guarantee that workers’ jobs in this industry will be preserved and that the centres currently located in each of the provinces be maintained. There must be a guarantee that workers’ rights will be preserved, workers who, I remind you, have gone to court on several occasions and have won their case each time. There must be a guarantee that another group of former workers will have the time to present a plan to revive the heavy maintenance industry, even to maintain aircraft in Canada. There must be a guarantee that the quality of the work done here will be preserved, just like our knowledge and our skill in the aviation industry. There must be a guarantee that provinces will be allowed to reach real agreements with Air Canada.
From the outset, we have heard about Air Canada acquiring C Series aircraft from Bombardier but we have never been told the reasoning and the role that Bill C-10 is playing in the acquisition of those aircraft. There seems to be no agreement between the government and Air Canada. There seems to be no agreement with Bombardier either, for the acquisition of these aircraft. However, everyone who has testified here has made a very clear and precise link between those agreements that we have heard nothing about, that are not supposed to exist, but that apparently do exist. If you are following me, it is quite clear.
That is why it is our responsibility to ask questions. Are there legal reasons, administrative reasons? Are there reasons to justify these deadlines that we do not know about and that, as parliamentarians, we should have known about?
You said earlier that you would give us the time. I am new to Parliament and I am not used to all this procedure. Can I ask the witnesses questions about this now? Is this the time? Can I ask questions?