Transport Committee on June 16th, 2020

[The Chair, Liberal, Vance Badawey]

I'm going to start off by calling the meeting to order.

I welcome you to meeting number seven of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Transportation, Infrastructure and Communities.

Members of the committee are meeting today because a meeting was requested by four members of the committee, pursuant to Standing Order 106(4), to discuss their request to undertake a study of ministers' spending priorities.

Today's meeting is taking place in person, and the proceedings will be made available via the House of Commons website. So that you are aware, I will tell you that the webcast will show the person speaking rather than the entire committee.

To ensure an orderly meeting, I would like to outline a few rules to follow.

Occupational health and safety have requested that we limit our movement in the room throughout the meeting. Individuals should always respect social distancing rules and remain two metres away from one another. Should you need to move around the room, please follow the arrows on the floor.

You will note that, to minimize health risks, limited personnel have been permitted to attend today's meeting. Staff have received a phone number where they can listen in to the proceedings in real time.

You will note, as well, that no paper documents have been distributed. All documents have been distributed electronically to all members. Should you require a copy of a document, please advise the clerk of the committee immediately by emailing the committee at [e-mail].

With that, I'll go to Mr. Doherty.

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

Mr. Chair, I'd like to move a motion immediately that the committee immediately undertake a study on the spending priorities of Transport Canada and Infrastructure Canada, and that the Minister of Transport and the Minister of Infrastructure each appear for one hour, separately, in the context of this study today.

[The Chair, Liberal, Vance Badawey]

Thank you, Mr. Doherty.

Are there any questions or comments on that motion?

(Motion agreed to [See Minutes of Proceedings])

Thank you.

We have Minister Garneau with us.

Welcome, Minister. You have five minutes.

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Good morning, Mr. Chair.

We're pleased to be here with you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for inviting us to present supplementary estimates (A) for Transport Canada and the other agencies and Crown corporations that make up the transportation portfolio.

I am pleased to be accompanied, virtually of course, by the deputy minister of transport, Michael Keenan, and the assistant deputy minister of corporate services and chief financial officer, Ryan Pilgrim.

I would like to preface my remarks today by noting the significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the transportation sector here in Canada and, indeed, around the world.

On behalf of all Canadians, I want to thank the transportation workers who help ensure the steady flow of essential goods and services during the COVID-19 crisis. This includes truck drivers, flight and train crews, air traffic controllers, dockworkers and many more.

Transport Canada strives to be transparent. This is why the department links each grant and contribution vote to its purpose. The supplementary estimates (A) that are now before committee members include a summary of incremental financial requirements, as well as an overview of major funding requests and horizontal initiatives.

Transport Canada continues to foster a modern, leading-edge transportation system that will support Canada's growth for years to come. Canada must be ready for new technologies such as connected and automated vehicles. When new technologies can help us promote cleaner, more efficient modes of transportation, we must be ready to integrate them.

To this end, the supplementary estimates (A) include $47.3 million to extend the incentive for the zero-emissions vehicle program. Originally announced in budget 2019, this program will help achieve key targets for new light-duty vehicles in Canada, with objectives of 10% by 2025, 30% by 2030 and 100% by 2040.

Two items relate to VIA Rail. Our national passenger rail carrier aims to provide a safe, secure, efficient, reliable, and environmentally sustainable service. In addition to service through the Quebec-City-to-Windsor corridor, and long-haul service between Toronto and Vancouver, and between Montreal and Halifax, VIA Rail also serves many regional and remote communities.

For some of these communities, VIA Rail is the only year-round transportation option.

The supplementary estimates (A) request $264.6 million to ensure that VIA Rail continues to operate reliably and to maintain its capital assets adequately.

The second item for VIA Rail relates to proposed high-frequency rail service in the Quebec-City-to-Windsor corridor. The supplementary estimates (A) include $14.7 million for research and preparatory work related to the proposal. Of this amount, VIA Rail requests $12.8 million and Transport Canada requests $1.8 million. This work is important, to consider how the high-frequency network would complement and operate in tandem with other rail services in the corridor.

The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, CATSA, is seeking $309.4 million to help ensure that air travellers and workers at airports are effectively screened. This funding would support increased use of full-body scanners as well as other initiatives.

In budget 2019, the Government of Canada announced its intention to introduce legislation that would enable Transport Canada to sell the assets and liabilities of CATSA to an independent, not-for-profit entity. To this end, the supplementary estimates include $2.8 million to support negotiations for this transition.

The final item I will highlight is a request for $84.9 million for Marine Atlantic. A Crown corporation, Marine Atlantic operates ferry services on two routes between the province of Nova Scotia and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

I believe the items I have outlined today demonstrate the direction that the Government of Canada is pursuing to keep transportation in this country safe, secure, efficient and environmentally responsible.

I value input from committee members, and I look forward to continuing our work, to strengthen our transportation system and build a strong future for Canada.

[The Chair, Liberal, Vance Badawey]

Thank you, Minister Garneau.

We'll start off with member Doherty.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister, for being here. I'll ask that you please keep your answers as succinct as possible.

Minister, are you familiar with Order Paper question 359? You signed off on it on April 11.

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

No. Would you remind me, Mr. Doherty, what it says?

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

I asked if you would be increasing a VIA Rail subsidy and you said no, yet today you're asking for $277 million. Can you explain why?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

Yes. The way it works is that we provide funding to VIA Rail at the beginning of the year and then provide additional funding as the year goes on. That's a normal process in government, as it was under previous governments as well.

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

Minister, do you know aviation's global economic impact, the total amount?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

I have seen IATA projections, which are in the hundreds of billions.

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

It's $2.7 trillion.

Minister, do you know what the Canadian aviation sector generates in GDP annually?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

It is a considerable amount. I think the percentage is somewhere under 10%, but I don't have the exact number here.

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

It's $35 billion.

Minister, do you know how much travel and tourism generate in Canada annually?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

Tourism is extremely important, and certainly the air sector is a vital part of it.

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

It's about $100 billion.

Minister, will you extend rent relief for NAS airports until the traffic recovers?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

As you know, we've extended rent relief for the remainder of this year. We continue to monitor the situation. No options are excluded, because obviously we want our airports to continue to function.

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

Minister, will you work with Regional Community Airports of Canada to increase ACAP funding?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

We are working with regional and northern airports to ensure that they are capable of continuing to deliver essential services today and in the near future. We have already provided $17.3 million to the three territories.

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

Minister, when was the last time you talked to Air Canada?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

I spoke to Air Canada probably about a week and a half ago and I have a meeting with them next Monday.

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

When was the last time you talked with WestJet?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

I am also in regular contact with WestJet. I can't give you the exact date when I spoke to Ed Sims, but I have spoken to him on a number of occasions during this crisis.

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

When was the last time you spoke to the Air Transport Association?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

I have not spoken to John McKenna at ATAC recently, but my officials have.