Transport Committee on Feb. 20th, 2020

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Thanks, Chair.

In the spirit of collaboration, I want to echo the sentiments of both members that this is critical for public safety reasons. In my riding of Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, we had a single-vehicle car accident, a rollover. The driver had to extract herself from the vehicle and crawl to a home to use their land line because her cellphone didn't work there.

It is the same issue that Mr. Doherty raised about first responders not having radio coverage throughout their areas of responsibility. It is a huge problem.

Though there was some funding provided in eastern Ontario in partnership with the municipalities, the Province of Ontario, and the federal government in 2019, by the time that infrastructure is upgraded, it will be five years too late. The technology is moving faster than we're implementing the changes.

It's tremendously important, and though I'm just filling the seat for today, I'll be watching the committee's work on this subject with great interest. It's tremendously important that six meetings, or fewer, are held on that.

[The Chair, Liberal, Vance Badawey]

Thank you, Mr. Barrett, and with any contribution you want to make, you're more than welcome to bring a submission forward.

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Vance Badawey]

Mr. Barsalou-Duval, you have the floor.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I have a bit of a technical question about the motion put forward yesterday. I think it's a good one, but I want to make sure I understand what “digital infrastructure” refers to. What does that cover? Are we talking about wireless Internet, wired Internet, cellular networks?

I'd like to know. Perhaps the analysts or those familiar with the subject could explain to me, in more practical terms, what is meant by “digital infrastructure”.

[The Chair, Liberal, Vance Badawey]

I'll let the analyst answer that question.

[Geneviève Gosselin]

I don't have much to say. Usually we are talking about broadband. I guess that would be the case here.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

And wireless.

[Geneviève Gosselin]

Yes, wireless and digital infrastructure.

I know that the industry committee did a report about this a year ago. Maybe we could send it to you to see if we want to explore something a bit different from what they did or if we want to do the same. It's just food for thought.

[The Chair, Liberal, Vance Badawey]

If I could add to that, besides what we did in the last session with respect to the information we received, it was very broad.

In my former life in municipal government, one of the things we worked on very diligently was providing fibre, for example, into the rural areas that didn't have high speed. However, it goes beyond that. It also goes beyond the “how”: How can we actually encourage especially the private sector to go into those areas when those returns might not be available for them?

It's working with the municipalities to create their own authorities, for example, create their own companies, whether with local electrical distribution companies, to fund the capital as well as the operation of creating a fibre company.

On emergency preparedness, especially in the rural areas, when something happens like an ice storm, it is very difficult to communicate, especially when the public is not prompted. What I mean by that is that if you have situation where.... For example, my city is on a canal. We may have a diesel spill and the intake is right there. Now nobody is prompted to that; no one knows that within the community. How do you prompt them when sometimes you don't have any communication abilities? A discussion like that has to be held.

I'm digging a bit deeper into the weeds, which I think you wanted, but it's a fulsome discussion when it comes to communications or lack thereof.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Like CN announcing a thousand layoffs.

[The Chair, Liberal, Vance Badawey]

Okay, Todd, you sounded great.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Yes, it was a good question.

[The Chair, Liberal, Vance Badawey]

Are there further questions or comments?

Mr. Bachrach.

[Taylor Bachrach, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Further to my colleague's point, I'm wondering if the analysts could let us know whether “digital infrastructure” is now the nomenclature being used. I have also heard “broadband” or “Internet”. These terms all get used interchangeably. For the purpose of specificity, so that we all know what we're studying, I think it's a useful conversation, if that's now the accepted term, then, as long as we.... We're talking about Internet to rural areas, correct? Are we talking about cellphone coverage? Are we talking about all these other—

[The Chair, Liberal, Vance Badawey]

All of the above.

[Taylor Bachrach, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Do we mean anything that's digital, ones and zeros?

[Geneviève Gosselin]

That's the motion. If we specify broadband, then it's only broadband.

[Taylor Bachrach, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

I just think it's quite.... The word “digital” is a very broad and all-encompassing word.

[Scot Davidson, Conservative, York—Simcoe, ON]

That's what we want.

[Taylor Bachrach, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Most of the technology we use now involves ones and zeros.

My preference would be that we really zero in on what I think is the key issue, which is getting acceptable Internet access to the rural parts of Canada.

[Churence Rogers, Liberal, Bonavista—Burin—Trinity, NL]

And cell service.

[The Chair, Liberal, Vance Badawey]

Are there further questions or comments on this?

Mr. Berthold.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Thank you very much.

One of the reasons we ask for 48 hours' notice to consider a motion is that it gives us time to study the wording of the motions and see if there are things that can be added to them or not. Since I only received these draft motions this afternoon, it is difficult for me, as the critic for infrastructure, to say whether the motion covers exactly all the topics we need to deal with.

For example, in the minister's mandate letter, the Prime Minister mandates the Canada Infrastructure Bank to bring high-speed Internet service to every Canadian home and business by 2030. This is an extremely important part of a study that we are going to do on Internet service, to see what the Canada Infrastructure Bank's plan will be to carry out that part of the mandate that has been given to four ministers: the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, the Minister of Canadian Heritage, and the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities.

I want to advise members of the committee that I'm going to move some amendments to this motion. It is indeed a major issue, I agree, but I will certainly amend this motion. I would in fact like to have the clerk's advice in this regard.

Madam Clerk, how do I amend a motion once we've passed it? Do I just speak up and say I want to amend this motion or that motion, or do I have to have the consent of the sponsor of the motion to amend it?

[The Chair, Liberal, Vance Badawey]

Madam Clerk.