Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I will also seize the opportunity during my time to move a motion. I hope we will be able to deal with it quickly.
On March 21, committee members received notice of the following motion:
Whereas on December 13, 2023, the House of Commons adopted the following motion, No. M-96: That: a) the House recognize that an assessment by the International Association of Firefighters concluded significant regulatory shortfalls concerning emergency responses at Canada’s major airports are needlessly putting the safety of the flying public at risk, by (i) failing to specify rescue as a required function of airport firefighters, (ii) requiring only that firefighters must reach the midpoint of the furthest runway in three minutes rather than all points on operational runways within that time; and b) in the opinion of the House, the government should, without delay, ensure that the Canadian Aviation Regulations reflect airport rescue and firefighting standards published by the International Civil Aviation Organization, specifically by (i) giving firefighters at Canada’s major airports the mandate and resources necessary to reach the site of a fire or mishap anywhere on an operational runway in three minutes or less, (ii) specifying that a required function of firefighters be the rescue of passengers. The Committee calls on the government of Canada, specifically the Minister of Transport, to inform the committee on how his department intends to respond to the motion adopted by the House.
The House passed this motion on December 13 of last year. I’m submitting the question to the committee because I want to make sure the committee receives a response from the government. It’s an important motion. In fact, the House passed it unanimously, if I am not mistaken. It seems to me that the least we could do is keep people abreast of the follow-up on this issue. That is why I would like us to get a written response from the government. That way, the committee will be informed of the response the government intends to give to this motion.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I hope the motion will pass unanimously.