Madam Chair, the recommendation is very broad; it has impacts upon a number of areas of operation in both aviation and other modes as well—rail and marine. At this point Transport Canada is still considering the feasibility of going forward with particular components of the aviation industry, whether it be in the 703 segment or in some other areas first, or in which order, looking at the safety record and at the implementation complexity and not just the cost, although cost to industry and the comparable safety benefit is a part of our regulatory process.
More importantly, what does it mean for the way they operate, and what are the ways in which we can try to develop a “safety management system lite”, if you will, that could be effective but still would not be an excessive burden on a company that might not be able to improve its safety at the end of this process if we move too quickly in that regard?
As well, I think we need to look at whether this is the best investment in safety improvement in those modes or in those particular sub-sectors, when we have other options that we potentially may want to move ahead.
We haven't disagreed with this; we think it is a worthwhile area to look at. It is something that we're very interested in doing, but we need to do it well, if we do it, and need to be sure not only that the industry can manage but also that Transport Canada can oversee it properly and implement such a system.