Evidence of meeting #1 for Transport, Infrastructure and Communities in the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was chair.
A recording is available from Parliament.
3:30 p.m.
The Clerk of the Committee Ms. Marie-France Lafleur
Honourable members of the committee, I see that we have a quorum, so let's begin.
I must inform members that the clerk of the committee can only receive motions for the election of the chair. The clerk cannot receive other types of motions, entertain points of order or participate in debate.
We can now proceed to the election of the chair. Pursuant to Standing Order 106(2), the chair must be a member of the government party.
I am ready to receive motions.
3:30 p.m.
Conservative
Stephanie Kusie Conservative Calgary Midnapore, AB
Madam Clerk, I would like to nominate Mr. Vance Badawey as the chair of this committee, please.
3:30 p.m.
The Clerk
It has been moved by Mrs. Kusie that Mr. Vance Badawey be elected as chair of the committee.
Are there any further motions for the position of chair?
I see none.
(Motion agreed to)
Mr. Badawey, congratulations. I invite you to take the virtual chair.
3:30 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Vance Badawey
Thank you.
Madam Clerk, do you want to proceed with the election of vice-chairs or would you like me to proceed with that?
3:30 p.m.
The Clerk
I can certainly do so if that's the wish of the committee.
Pursuant to Standing Order 106(2), the first vice-chair must be a member of the official opposition.
I am now ready to receive motions for the first vice-chair.
Ms. Jaczek.
3:30 p.m.
Liberal
3:30 p.m.
The Clerk
It has been moved by Ms. Jaczek that Mrs. Kusie be elected as first vice-chair of the committee. Are there any further motions for the position of first vice-chair?
I see none.
(Motion agreed to)
3:30 p.m.
The Clerk
Congratulations.
Pursuant to Standing Order 106(2), the second vice-chair must be a member of an opposition party other than the official opposition.
I am now ready to receive motions for the second vice-chair.
Mr. El-Khoury.
3:30 p.m.
Liberal
Fayçal El-Khoury Liberal Laval—Les Îles, QC
I nominate Mr. Barsalou-Duval for the position of second vice-chair of the committee.
3:30 p.m.
The Clerk
Mr. El-Khoury moves that Mr. Barsalou-Duval be elected as second vice-chair of the committee.
Are there any further motions?
(Motion agreed to)
October 13th, 2020 / 3:30 p.m.
The Clerk
I declare Mr. Barsalou-Duval duly elected second vice-chair of the committee.
On that note, Mr. Chair, it's back to you.
3:30 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Vance Badawey
Thank you, Madam Clerk. Well done.
Congratulations to both vice-chairs: Mrs. Kusie and Mr. Barsalou-Duval.
We're now going to move into the routine motions. We've all received our documents from the clerk's office. The intent, if I can get the blessing from the committee, is to go through the routine motions one by one. We can debate them and vote on them one by one.
Do I have a person who wants to start us off?
Mr. Rogers, the floor is yours.
3:30 p.m.
Liberal
Churence Rogers Liberal Bonavista—Burin—Trinity, NL
Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Congratulations on being elected as chair, and to Mrs. Kusie and Mr. Barsalou-Duval. I'm looking forward to working with you and all the members of this committee.
For the routine motions, I just want to go through a portion of these and then I'll ask my honourable colleague, Mr. El-Khoury, to do some of these in French.
The first motion is regarding analyst services.
That the committee retain, as needed and at the discretion of the Chair, the services of one or more analysts from the Library of Parliament to assist it in its work.
3:35 p.m.
Conservative
Stephanie Kusie Conservative Calgary Midnapore, AB
We have no objections to that, Mr. Chair, and Mr. Rogers, thank you.
(Motion agreed to)
3:35 p.m.
Liberal
Churence Rogers Liberal Bonavista—Burin—Trinity, NL
The next routine motion is as follows:
That the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure be established and be composed of five (5) members; the Chair, one member from each party, and that the subcommittee work in a spirit of collaboration.
3:35 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Vance Badawey
Thank you, Mr. Rogers.
Are there any questions to that motion?
Mr. Bachrach, go ahead.
3:35 p.m.
NDP
Taylor Bachrach NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
I'd like to propose an amendment, if that's in order, Mr. Chair.
The amendment is to insert the word “recognized” after the word “each”, so it would read “one member from each recognized party.”
(Amendment agreed to)
(Motion as amended agreed to [See Minutes of Proceedings])
3:35 p.m.
Liberal
Churence Rogers Liberal Bonavista—Burin—Trinity, NL
The next routine motion is as follows:
That the Chair be authorized to hold meetings to receive evidence and to have that evidence printed when a quorum is not present, provided that at least four (4) members are present, including two members of the opposition and two members of the government; but when travelling outside the parliamentary precinct, that the meeting begin after 15 minutes, regardless of members present.
(Motion agreed to)
3:35 p.m.
Liberal
Churence Rogers Liberal Bonavista—Burin—Trinity, NL
On the motion entitled “Time for Opening Remarks and Questioning of Witnesses”:
That the witnesses be given 10 minutes for their opening statements; that, at the discretion of the Chair, during the questioning of witnesses, there be allocated six (6) minutes for the first question of each party as follows for the first round: Conservative Party, Liberal Party, Bloc Québécois, New Democratic Party. For the second and subsequent rounds, the order and time for questioning be as follows: Conservative Party, five (5) minutes; Liberal Party, five (5) minutes; Conservative Party, five (5) minutes; Liberal Party, five (5) minutes; Bloc Québécois, two and a half (2.5) minutes; New Democratic Party, two and half (2.5) minutes.
3:35 p.m.
Liberal
3:35 p.m.
NDP
Taylor Bachrach NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
I would move an amendment. There are two parts to this amendment.
First I would move that the wording be changed to, “That witnesses be given five minutes for their opening statements; that, whenever possible, witnesses provide the committee with their opening statement 72 hours in advance; that, at the discretion of the Chair..”, etc., as written. That's the first part of the amendment.
The second part of the amendment is concerning the order. I would amend that the wording be changed to, “For the second and subsequent rounds, the order and time for questioning be as follows: Conservative Party, five (5) minutes; Liberal Party, five (5) minutes; Bloc Québécois, two and a half (2.5) minutes; New Democratic Party, two and a half (2.5) minutes; Conservative Party, five (5) minutes; Liberal Party, five (5) minutes.”
3:35 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Vance Badawey
Thank you, Mr. Bachrach.
Are there any questions or comments on that amendment?
Mr. Barsalou-Duval, did you have a question on the amendment?
3:35 p.m.
Bloc
Xavier Barsalou-Duval Bloc Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC
No. I support the amendment completely. So I have no further questions.
3:40 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Vance Badawey
Are there any questions to the amendment, parts one and two?
(Amendment agreed to )
Mr. Barsalou-Duval, do you have a question on the amended motion? Are you fine, Mr. Barsalou-Duval?
3:40 p.m.
Bloc
Xavier Barsalou-Duval Bloc Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC
Yes. I quite agree with that.
I would like to go back to the reason I raised my hand after we voted. I would like to be able to ask the clerk a question, so that she can tell me whether my proposal is in order or not.
3:40 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Vance Badawey
Thank you, Mr. Barsalou-Duval.
To the main motion, are there any further questions or comments?
(Motion as amended agreed to [See Minutes of Proceedings])
3:40 p.m.
Liberal
Churence Rogers Liberal Bonavista—Burin—Trinity, NL
The next motion is on “Document Distribution”:
That only the clerk of the committee be authorized to distribute documents to members of the committee and only when the documents are available in both official languages and that witnesses be advised accordingly.
(Motion agreed to)
3:40 p.m.
Liberal
Churence Rogers Liberal Bonavista—Burin—Trinity, NL
The title of the next motion is “Working Meals”:
That the Clerk of the Committee be authorized to make the necessary arrangements to provide working meals for the committee and its subcommittees.
(Motion agreed to)
3:40 p.m.
Liberal
Churence Rogers Liberal Bonavista—Burin—Trinity, NL
For “Travel, Accommodation and Living Expenses of Witnesses”, the motion is:
That, if requested, reasonable travel, accommodation and living expenses be reimbursed to witnesses, not exceeding two (2) representatives per organization; and that, in exceptional circumstances, payment for more representatives be made at the discretion of the Chair.
(Motion agreed to)
3:40 p.m.
Liberal
Fayçal El-Khoury Liberal Laval—Les Îles, QC
Congratulations to the chair; and to all members, I believe we're going to do a good job.
This is the motion that deals with the presence of staff at in camera meetings.
That, unless otherwise ordered, each committee member be allowed to have one staff member present at in camera meetings and that one additional person from each House officer's office be allowed to be present.
3:40 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Vance Badawey
Thank you, Mr. El-Khoury.
I'll go to the motion shortly, but I'm hearing through translation both the speaker, Mr. El-Khoury, and the translator at the same time. Is there any way that translation can turn the volume down on the speaker when we're trying to listen to the translation into English?
Folks, when speaking, go down to the interpretation part of the toolbar at the bottom and press it. If you're going to be speaking French, you can press “French”, and if you're going to be speaking English, press “English”. That way, we can hear it loud and clear.
3:40 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Vance Badawey
Are there any questions or comments on that motion?
(Motion agreed to)
3:45 p.m.
Liberal
Fayçal El-Khoury Liberal Laval—Les Îles, QC
The next motion deals with transcripts of in camera meetings.
That one copy of the transcript of each in camera meeting be kept in the committee clerk's office for consultation by members of the committee or by their staff.
3:45 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Vance Badawey
Are there any questions or comments on this motion?
(Motion agreed to)
3:45 p.m.
Liberal
Fayçal El-Khoury Liberal Laval—Les Îles, QC
The motion on notices of motion reads as follows:
That 48 hours notice, interpreted as two (2) nights, shall be required for any substantive motion to be considered by the committee, unless the substantive motions relates directly to business then under consideration, provided that: (1) the notice be filed with the clerk of the committee no later than 4:00 p.m. from Monday to Friday; that (2) the motion be distributed to members in both official languages by the clerk on the same day the said notice was transmitted, if it was received no later than the deadline hour; and that (3) notices received after the deadline hour or on non-business days be deemed to have been received during the next business day and that when committee is travelling on official business, no substantive motions may be moved.
3:45 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Vance Badawey
Are there any questions or comments on this motion?
(Motion agreed to)
3:45 p.m.
NDP
Taylor Bachrach NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
Mr. Chair, can I ask a quick question?
Mr. El-Khoury's translation was not working. I'm concerned there may have been a motion that was either skipped, or there was one that was read twice. I want to confirm with the clerk that we covered access to in camera meetings as well as transcripts of in camera meetings.
3:45 p.m.
The Clerk
Yes, we did cover both.
3:45 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Vance Badawey
Thank you, Madam Clerk. Thank you, Mr. Bachrach.
Mr. El-Khoury, please continue.
3:45 p.m.
Liberal
Fayçal El-Khoury Liberal Laval—Les Îles, QC
The following motion deals with Orders of Reference from the House respecting bills:
That, in relation to Orders of Reference from the House respecting Bills,
(a) the clerk of the committee shall, upon the committee receiving such an Order of Reference, write to each member who is not a member of a caucus represented on the committee to invite those members to file with the clerk of the committee, in both official languages, any amendments to the Bill, which is the subject of the said Order, which they would suggest that the committee consider;
(b) suggested amendments filed, pursuant to paragraph (a), at least 48 hours prior to the start of clause-by-clause consideration of the Bill to which the amendments relate shall be deemed to be proposed during the said consideration, provided that the committee may, by motion, vary this deadline in respect of a given Bill;
and (c) during the clause-by-clause consideration of a Bill, the Chair shall allow a member who filed suggested amendments, pursuant to paragraph (a), an opportunity to make brief representations in support of them.
3:45 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Vance Badawey
Are there any questions or comments?
(Motion agreed to)
Madam Clerk, I believe we covered all the routine motions.
3:45 p.m.
The Clerk
Absolutely. It is up to the committee to decide if there are any other motions to be adopted as routine motions.
3:45 p.m.
Liberal
3:45 p.m.
Liberal
Maninder Sidhu Liberal Brampton East, ON
I don't have a routine motion. I have a regular motion, but I will talk about that once we're done with routine motions.
3:45 p.m.
NDP
Taylor Bachrach NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
There were three routine motions that were carried last time that did not appear on the list that was just read out. I would like to move them one at a time, if that would be in order.
The first one is:
That any motion to go in camera should be debatable and amendable, and that the committee may only meet in camera for the following purposes: a) to discuss administrative matters of the committee; b) to draft a report; c) briefings concerning national security; and d) for any other reason, with the unanimous consent of the committee.
3:50 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Vance Badawey
Thank you, Mr. Bachrach.
Are there any questions on that motion?
Mr. Bittle.
3:50 p.m.
Liberal
Chris Bittle Liberal St. Catharines, ON
My only concern about this motion is the unanimous consent motion. I'm in agreement that our priority should be to be open to the public and for debate to be there. I'm just going back to my time served on PROC. I believe Ms. Kusie might have been there during that time, and I know we dealt with a number of issues not related to national security. We dealt with issues related to security of the House. We dealt with issues related to collective agreements. We dealt with other issues that came up, such as business confidences and those types of issues that don't fall necessarily onto that list. I worry that one member, be it a government member or an opposition member, may be able to stifle an opportunity to hear from a witness.
I also remember one witness from PROC who was a member of the Ottawa police force who just didn't want his identity to be acknowledged. It was an issue of his own security and his family's security. I don't know if we'll run into those issues, but if we narrow it too much and give an opportunity for one member to scuttle the opportunity to hear from a witness, that really limits our opportunity to debate, especially if it's on a particular issue of importance that's before the committee. We may have very specific instances. I did bring up that Ottawa police officer with regard to hate crimes. That might have been before Ms. Kusie joined our committee. We dealt with the collective bargaining agreement for the Parliamentary Protective Service. We dealt with legal issues before the committee.
There's more than just that point that can come up. My worry is that any one member can stop a witness from appearing if it comes up.
I see Mr. Bachrach has a response, so I'll stop talking for now.
3:50 p.m.
NDP
Taylor Bachrach NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
If I recall the debate that we had last time we considered the routine motions, item d) was added on to address the concern that there might be situations arising that were not covered under the first three points, and which the committee agrees unanimously should be considered in camera. The intent of this motion is to err on the side of transparency, which I know is a value that everyone on this committee holds. What we don't want is the in camera provisions to be used for the consideration of testimony that might be embarrassing or that for some reason members might not want to have in a public meeting.
If what Mr. Bittle is suggesting is that we remove item d) so that unanimous consent is not a part of the motion, I think that would be fine. It does make the motion more limiting. Then for us to go in camera, an item would have to follow one of the first three criteria.
If I understand where he's coming from, I would be happy to remove item d).
3:50 p.m.
Liberal
Chris Bittle Liberal St. Catharines, ON
Just to go further, this isn't necessarily a motion that I've seen before in other committees. It's not necessarily a bad thing that we haven't seen it before in other committees, and it doesn't necessarily make it valid. I think if we are going to have this motion, item d) should remain in it. I guess I'm questioning the necessity for the motion. Especially with the government in the minority, there's very little that would cause us to worry that the members of the governing party might be trying to silence a particular debate.
I guess I would be opposed to an amendment to the motion as a whole. I'm questioning the necessity for the motion in its entirety. In my experience, even when we held a majority, there was a lack of a desire to push things into an in camera debate, and the idea that the committee was a good arbiter of what that was at any given time.... That's just from my experience, and I'm putting it out there.
I'd like to hear from the other opposition parties and their thoughts on it. If they want it, I'm not going to move to amend it any further, but I guess I question the rationale for it.
3:55 p.m.
Conservative
Stephanie Kusie Conservative Calgary Midnapore, AB
Thank you.
I lean towards having it. It states in the motion that it's always debatable and amendable. I absolutely agree with my NDP colleague that whatever we do should be in support of transparency within the committee. I would prefer to see the motion remain, and I would prefer to see it remain in the format that exists, Mr. Chair.
Thank you.
3:55 p.m.
Bloc
Xavier Barsalou-Duval Bloc Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would like to ask the clerk for some information. If we do not pass this motion, how would things work by default? Would it be up to the chair of the committee to choose whether or not meetings are held in camera?
3:55 p.m.
The Clerk
Thank you for your question.
Without this motion, a majority of committee members would decide if the meeting is to be conducted in public or in camera. As it stands at present, you need unanimous consent.
3:55 p.m.
Bloc
Xavier Barsalou-Duval Bloc Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC
I am comfortable with the motion too. I feel that the principle that meetings be held in public by default is helpful. It seems quite logical to me. So far, I have not heard an argument that persuades me to the contrary.
3:55 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Vance Badawey
Thank you, Mr. Barsalou-Duval.
Are there any further questions or comments on the motion?
(Motion agreed to)
Thank you, Mr. Bachrach.
Are there any further questions or comments on the—
3:55 p.m.
NDP
3:55 p.m.
NDP
Taylor Bachrach NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
The first one is:
That whenever a Minister appears before the Committee, every effort be made to ensure that the meeting is televised.
3:55 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Vance Badawey
Thank you, Mr. Bachrach.
Are there any questions or comments on that motion?
(Motion agreed to)
3:55 p.m.
NDP
Taylor Bachrach NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
My final motion is:
That all requests to appear before the Committee be distributed to the Committee members; and that all briefing materials submitted to the clerk be distributed to the committee members.
3:55 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Vance Badawey
Are there any questions or comments on that motion?
(Motion agreed to)
3:55 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Vance Badawey
Thank you, Mr. Bachrach.
Are there any other comments or questions about the routine motions?
We'll move on.
Thanks, everybody. That was very good.
Mr. Sidhu, you had your hand up earlier. You wanted to speak.
Mr. Sidhu, the floor is yours.
4 p.m.
Liberal
Maninder Sidhu Liberal Brampton East, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Congratulations to you and the vice-chairs.
I'm not sure how my colleagues will want to proceed. I'm ready to present my motion, but I'm not sure....
I watched other committees this morning, for example, the indigenous affairs committee, and they referred to subcommittees. Before I present my motion, I want to hear what my colleagues have to say before I go forward with it.
4 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Vance Badawey
Thank you, Mr. Sidhu. I'm going to get to that in a second.
I do want to mention a few words before we begin, to ensure an orderly meeting.
As you probably already know, if you have a motion to move, please unmute yourself and state that you would like to move a motion, as you have throughout this meeting. You may also raise a point of order at any time during the meeting by unmuting yourself and stating that you have a point of order.
Once a motion is moved or a point of order is raised, please use the “raise hand” function to indicate that you wish to be included on the speakers list. I will be keeping an eye on that. To do that, click on “participants” at the bottom of your screen and press the “raise hand” function.
Finally, the motion adopted by the House on September 23 provides, “except for those decided unanimously or ‘on division’, all questions shall be decided by a recorded vote”. Therefore, once a motion or an amendment is moved and there is no more debate, I will ask if there are any objections. If you object, please again unmute and say so, and I will then ask the clerk to proceed with a recorded vote.
I'll go back to Mr. Sidhu's comments and ask for the committee's thoughts on how to move forward, whether it be by accepting motions here at this meeting, as we move forward past this point, or by giving notice of motions and moving them over to a subcommittee to discuss there. We did that the last time around and it worked quite effectively—sometimes. For the most part, it allowed the committee as the whole to really deal with the meat and the bones, so to speak. We could do this or have debate on the motions we may be entertaining today.
I'm going to ask those here today to raise their hands so we can discuss that.
By the way, please bear with me here, folks, because when I look at the speakers list, it doesn't give me a cue; it just shows me hands. If I happen to pick somebody who had a hand up before someone else, I apologize.
Mr. Bachrach, the floor is yours.
4 p.m.
NDP
Taylor Bachrach NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
When the committee met for those first meetings, a number of motions were introduced without notice and this caught some people off guard. My preference moving forward would be that we give adequate notice for motions, as per the routine motions we passed, and that the motions then be sent to the subcommittee for prioritization. I know that last time there were numerous motions committing us to studies, and we only got through, I believe, the first one. I'm sure almost every member of this committee has a few in their back pocket, as I do. Maybe we could provide notice at this meeting and then get the subcommittee together at the earliest opportunity. That would be a good way to proceed.
4 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Vance Badawey
Thank you, Mr. Bachrach. I'll take that as a motion.
Are there any questions on it?
Go ahead, Mr. Barsalou-Duval.
4 p.m.
Bloc
Xavier Barsalou-Duval Bloc Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC
I would say that I basically agree with my NPD colleague's comment that turned into a motion. The subcommittee should be meeting so that we save time. Then we won't have to waste time discussing the priority of the motions.
On the other hand, it would actually be helpful if we could introduce them all now, because we are all here and it's not yet 5:30 p.m. I feel that a number of our colleagues have already prepared motions, as have I. I would be curious to find out what my colleagues want to propose.
4:05 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Vance Badawey
Thank you, Mr. Barsalou-Duval.
Are there any further questions on Mr. Bachrach's motion?
There being none, all those in favour?
(Motion agreed to [See Minutes of Proceedings])
Thank you, Mr. Bachrach, and thank you for your intervention, Mr. Barsalou-Duval.
4:05 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Vance Badawey
We're going to go along the line of the motion and of course the thoughts given in the intervention by Mr. Barsalou-Duval. I'll go back to Mr. Sidhu first. He had his hand up.
As we put those forward, the intent is not to debate but to give notice, I guess, for lack of a better word, of what the intentions are going to be. With that, the full motion and/or a formalized motion can be presented to the clerk. The clerk can then pass that on to the subcommittee, and we can move from there.
Mr. Sidhu.
4:05 p.m.
Conservative
Stephanie Kusie Conservative Calgary Midnapore, AB
Chair, on a point of order—my apologies——do we need to raise our hand for each motion we're presenting, or do we present the total sum of the motions we've prepared when we have the floor?
4:05 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Vance Badawey
I would say get right to it and present all the motions. Then we can go from there.
4:05 p.m.
Conservative
4:05 p.m.
Liberal
Maninder Sidhu Liberal Brampton East, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
With regard to the motion I'd like to present, we know that in the transportation sector, labour shortages existed before COVID and they still exist now. The issue is that we have a large transportation sector here in Brampton East, and a big transportation corridor. A lot of drivers are scared and considering other careers. We already have a shortage, so I think this is an important study.
The wording of my motion is as follows: “That the committee commit to undertake a study focusing on current and anticipated labour shortages in the Canadian transportation sector, for example truck drivers, mariners, maintenance staff, trainers/instructors and various types of engineers and technicians in the aviation sector. The study would identify the implications of such shortages and look at possible solutions to alleviate problems stemming from them; and that, in consultation with the committee members, the Chair be empowered to coordinate the resources and scheduling necessary to execute these studies in six meetings or fewer.”
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
4:05 p.m.
Liberal
4:05 p.m.
Conservative
Stephanie Kusie Conservative Calgary Midnapore, AB
Thank you, Chair.
I have a number of motions that I will present.
The first motion is with regard to the main estimates: “That the committee call upon the Minister of Transport and officials from the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities to discuss the spending priorities outlined in the main estimates, and this meeting occur before November 20, 2020.”
I'll move on to my motions for our proposed studies as well, to add to that from my Liberal colleague.
Our first motion is as follows: “That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a study of four meetings in regard to Transport Canada's aircraft certification process, including, but not limited to, the nature of Transport Canada's relationship to the Federal Aviation Administration and other certifying bodies, as well as the role of airplane manufacturers in the certification process; that the evidence and documentation received by the committee during the first session of the 43rd Parliament on the subject be taken into consideration by the committee in the current session; that the committee completes its study by November 27, 2020; and that the committee present its findings and recommendations to the House.”
Mr. Chair, this is just to complete the study that began prior to prorogation. I believe we have an obligation to Canadians and affected parties to conclude this study and make our recommendations.
I'll go on to my next motion with regard to studies:
That the Committee undertake a study of four meetings on the impact of COVID-19 on the aviation sector; and that the Committee report its findings and recommendations to the House.
4:10 p.m.
NDP
Taylor Bachrach NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
I have a point of order, Mr. Chair.
I think the translation isn't working again, or perhaps Ms. Kusie is on the wrong channel.
4:10 p.m.
Conservative
Stephanie Kusie Conservative Calgary Midnapore, AB
I am on the wrong channel. My apologies.
In my attempt to work in both official languages, I did not put it on the correct channel.
I have now put it on the right channel, and I will repeat my motion:
That the Committee undertake a study of four meetings on the impact of COVID-19 on the aviation sector; and that the Committee report its findings and recommendations to the House.
My third one is: “That the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities undertake a study on rapid testing for COVID-19 in the transportation sector; and that the committee report its findings, including its recommendations, to the House, and the government respond to the committee's recommendations.”
My fourth one is: “That the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities undertake a study as to the impact of COVID-19 on supply chains, particularly supply chains involving aviation, shipping; and that the committee report its findings, including recommendations, to the House.”
My final one is: “That the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities undertake a study on the proposed Alaska to Alberta railway; and that the committee reports its findings, including the recommendations, to the House.”
4:10 p.m.
NDP
Taylor Bachrach NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I have three motions, for which I would like to provide notice.
The first one relates to infrastructure funding: “That the committee commit to undertake a study related to the mandate and activities of the Canada Infrastructure Bank, including a review of the projects that the bank has supported and possible alternative mechanisms for funding comparable projects; and that no fewer than four meetings be set aside for the study.”
The second motion relates to the investing in Canada plan and the climate lens. The motion reads: “That the committee commit to undertake a study related to the implementation and effectiveness of the climate lens requirement to Infrastructure Canada's investing in Canada infrastructure program, ICIP; its disaster mitigation and adaptation fund, the MAF; and its smart cities challenge; and that no fewer than four meetings be set aside for the study.”
The third and final motion relates to broadband infrastructure: “That the committee commit to undertake a study related to the implementation and effectiveness of Government of Canada programs to support high-speed Internet and cell infrastructure in rural, remote and northern communities; and that no fewer than four meetings be set aside for the study.”
4:15 p.m.
Liberal
4:15 p.m.
Bloc
Xavier Barsalou-Duval Bloc Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I have four motions to submit to the committee. Could the clerk confirm that she has actually received them, because another person was acting as the clerk beforehand? I don't know whether the information actually got to her. We can send them to her if necessary.
Here is my first motion:
That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the Committee undertake a study on the sale of Air Transat and its impact on the air transportation sector in Canada; that, in order to thoroughly study the situation, an order of the Committee be issued for the production of Transport Canada’s reports, documents, memoranda, notes and other records relating to the sale of Air Transat and that they be delivered to the Clerk of the Committee within fifteen days following the adoption of this motion.
This, of course, is a motion about the sale of Air Transat, which has important repercussions on competition. The Minister of Transport has recognized that himself by launching a public interest assessment on the very transaction.
My second motion is as follows:
That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the Committee undertake a study on regional air transportation issues in the context of Air Canada’s withdrawal of service from more than 30 regional routes and on measures and solutions that could be introduced to ensure adequate service that meets the needs of the regions affected by these withdrawals; and that the Committee report its findings and recommendations to the House.
So this is about the major elimination of regional services. I feel that we have to focus on this in order to find lasting solutions to the problem, which is due in part to COVID-19. The problem existed before, but COVID-19 has made it worse.
Here's the next motion:
That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the Committee undertake a study on airline policies to deny refunds in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the possibility of the Department of Transport to adopt and issue directives consistent with consumers’ rights; and that the Committee report its findings and recommendations to the House.
This is about the travel credits and the many plane tickets for which consumers have not been reimbursed. The airlines are refusing to reimburse people who, in a way, have lost their money.
My final motion is as follows:
That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the Committee undertake a study on government policies and measures in place with respect to transportation electrification and proposals for improvements; and that the Committee report its findings and recommendations to the House.
I feel the motion speaks for itself.
Thank you very much for letting me introduce these motions, Mr. Chair.
4:15 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Vance Badawey
Thank you, Mr. Barsalou-Duval.
I'm now going to move on to Mr. Rogers.
4:15 p.m.
Liberal
Churence Rogers Liberal Bonavista—Burin—Trinity, NL
Thanks, Mr. Chair.
I have a motion that relates to identifying innovative technology and solutions for cargo delivery in northern rural and remote communities: “That the committee commit to undertake a study focusing on the role that innovative technology such as drones or the latest generation of airships can play in delivering cargo to northern and remote communities that are challenging to service using existing transportation infrastructure; and that, in consultation with committee members, the chair be empowered to coordinate the resources and scheduling necessary to execute these studies in six meetings or fewer.”
Thanks, Mr. Chair.
4:15 p.m.
Liberal
Chris Bittle Liberal St. Catharines, ON
Thank you so much, Mr. Chair.
My motion is fairly similar to one of the motions brought forward by Mrs. Kusie. Hopefully the subcommittee will be able to merge these together if the committee deems it a priority. It would be a general study—a little broader than what Mrs. Kusie discussed—of biosecurity in the transportation sector.
The motion is as follows: “ That the committee undertake a study focusing on the role that innovative biotechnology—for example, temperature screening, retinal scans and face recognition—can play in improving the safety and security of our transportation sector, including increasing public confidence in said sector; and that, in consultation with the committee members, the chair be empowered to coordinate the resources of scheduling necessary to execute these studies in six meetings or fewer.”
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
4:20 p.m.
Liberal
4:20 p.m.
Liberal
Helena Jaczek Liberal Markham—Stouffville, ON
It's certainly nice to see so much enthusiasm for so many different studies coming from members of the committee. Our committee, of course, is transport, infrastructure and communities. My motion addresses particularly infrastructure and communities. The motion is: “That the committee undertake a study on the ability of targeted infrastructure investment to influence social, economic and environmental outcomes and improve the lives of Canadians in underserved and vulnerable communities; that the committee examine the socio-economic profile of where infrastructure funding has flowed historically; and that the committee study best practices in Canada and abroad for ensuring infrastructure investments reach communities most in need.”
4:20 p.m.
Liberal
Fayçal El-Khoury Liberal Laval—Les Îles, QC
Mr. Chair, I also have a motion to introduce.
I move:
That the Committee commit to undertaking a study on the industrial capacity of the construction sector in order to determine how much investment can be made in the Canadian economy each year to ensure full employment in the construction sector and related supply chains, how to obtain maximum performance of these investments and how to do so without causing unwarranted inflation in project costs; and that the study examine the potential of current programs and commitments from all levels of government to boost capacity.
4:20 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Vance Badawey
Thank you, Mr. El-Khoury.
Are there any further questions, comments or motions? Is there any further business?
Madam Clerk, do you have any comments?
4:20 p.m.
The Clerk
No. Thank you.
I did receive the motions from Mr. Barsalou-Duval, and I can distribute the motions to all of the members in both official languages.
4:20 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Vance Badawey
Thank you.
It will be my intent to secure a date for a subcommittee meeting. We haven't received any indication from our whips, nor from the clerk, that there is a future meeting scheduled, but I do believe we can take that opportunity to schedule a subcommittee.
The question I have for members is about the makeup of the subcommittee itself. Madam Clerk, last time around, I believe our subcommittee was made up of all parties. Can you confirm that?
4:20 p.m.
The Clerk
Yes, absolutely. We just adopted the routine motion saying that it should be members of all recognized parties and that it be five members. Normally, I confirm with the whips as to who exactly would be the members for the subcommittee.
4:20 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Vance Badawey
Wonderful. Are there any questions or comments on that?
With no further business before us, I will now adjourn this meeting.
Thank you very much, folks.