I'd like to address the issue of your investigative powers in the event of allegations or when you suspect abuse of a dominant position or anti-competitive practices.
In my work as the Bloc Québécois transport critic, I've had the opportunity to speak on a very regular basis with people from the regions, regional airports and small airlines.
They almost all agreed on one thing. They told me they would often experience situations where, trying to start up a new flight service or a new route to a given destination, a big player would come in, slash the fares, and then jack them back up a few months after they had withdrawn.
They also complained that if they filed a complaint with the Competition Bureau, they unfortunately got the impression that nothing was done because it took years for a report to come out. They also told me that they had to gather up so many documents that they got discouraged. In addition, they don't have the financial means to compete unfairly for months, if not years.
Are there any solutions that would more effectively resolve the issue I've just brought up?