Evidence of meeting #137 for Transport, Infrastructure and Communities in the 44th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was study.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Peter Schiefke
Thank you, sir.
We'd appreciate your response, sir. You have 15 seconds.
Sgt Dave Moffatt
Thank you.
For one, on the highways, we have a lot of regulations police can act on. We don't have the same thing on the water. There has to be something available on the water that we can use. For instance, through the Canada Shipping Act, if there's a breach of right-of-way laws, it goes to criminal court.
We need a better ability to move all of those charges back into the contraventions regulations so that we as enforcement officers can use them to help educate people and enforce the laws on the water. We don't have that right now.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Peter Schiefke
Thank you very much, Sergeant Moffatt.
Thank you, Mr. Lauzon.
Mr. Barsalou‑Duval, you have the floor for two and a half minutes.
Bloc
Xavier Barsalou-Duval Bloc Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I will take this opportunity to say that Mr. Moffatt's comments are very interesting. What he just said is consistent with what I myself have repeated on a number of occasions, but words always have greater weight when they come from witnesses.
Ms. Mercier‑Blais, if memory serves, you published your study on the effects of wake boats in 2014, about 10 years ago. I imagine that, since then, a number of people have spoken to you about it. By the way, one of the reasons you're here today is that I ended up hearing about it myself.
How have people reacted, in general? How has your study been received?
Research Associate, Université du Québec à Montréal, As an Individual
First, the two associations concerned were very pleased to see that our findings were the same for both lakes.
To our great surprise, our study covered a lot of ground afterwards and was passed around between associations. That proves that there was a lack of scientific data on the subject. Because our study provided specific figures for Quebec, people wanted to use it, even though they subsequently ran into some regulatory limitations. Be that as it may, people talk to us a lot about our study and are very happy that we did this work. It's nice to see that, as a result of our study, organizations have developed a will to place restrictions on their own bodies of water.
Bloc
Xavier Barsalou-Duval Bloc Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC
We often hear that there aren't enough studies or data to determine the most appropriate regulatory measures. Some witnesses talked about that as well.
Would you agree or disagree with that?
Research Associate, Université du Québec à Montréal, As an Individual
In a perfect world, studies would be conducted on all bodies of water where problems have been noted, but that's not possible.
That said, there are studies showing that there are consequences, so it's a matter of finding out how we can use the specific figures in those studies and transpose them into regulations.
Of course, we don't have to harmonize the two, but there are certainly a number of studies that prove that wake boats and other types of boats have an impact on sediment suspension, on shorelines and on shoreline erosion.
Bloc
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Peter Schiefke
Thank you very much, Mr. Barsalou‑Duval.
Last for today is Mr. Bachrach.
Mr. Bachrach, the floor is yours. You have two and a half minutes, sir.
NDP
Taylor Bachrach NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
As I mentioned before, I'm going to use my time in this round to move my motion, which has been put on notice. I'd like to move the following:
That pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a study regarding community safety and emergency preparedness as they relate to the transport of dangerous goods by rail, with a particular focus on rural communities; that the study include at least 12 hours of testimony; and that the committee report its findings and recommendations to the House.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Peter Schiefke
Thank you very much, Mr. Bachrach.
For the discussion, I'll have Mr. Lawrence, followed by Mr. Badawey.
Conservative
Philip Lawrence Conservative Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON
I understand that it is the practice of this committee to accept nearly any type of study, and this one seems as reasonable as any. There's only one amendment I would like to see, but at this point, I won't move it. It seems that 12 hours might be a bit much, and I believe that would be six meetings, if my math is correct. I would like to move that down to four meetings, as the time is limited.
Liberal
Vance Badawey Liberal Niagara Centre, ON
Since it was moved by Mr. Bachrach and supported by Mr. Lawrence, I think—
Bloc
Xavier Barsalou-Duval Bloc Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I assume it will be the study that will be proposed by the NDP, as part of this rotation to which the committee has agreed. If that's the direction the committee wants to take, I don't see a problem with it.
That said, we're talking about 12 hours of testimony, aren't we? I would like some clarification as to how the 12 hours are interpreted. If I suggest two witnesses and the committee invites them both to appear in the same hour, will that count as two hours of testimony?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Peter Schiefke
Thank you, Mr. Barsalou‑Duval.
There are lots of questions for you, Mr. Bachrach, as well as comments.
The floor is yours, sir.
NDP
Taylor Bachrach NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
To my colleague Mr. Barsalou-Duval's question, my understanding is that it's the total hours of testimony, not person hours, but it's a good point.
On the length of the study, I think we could spend 20 meetings talking about this topic. It's fairly technical. There are a lot of different stakeholders—certainly municipalities and first nations. People can speak to the environmental impacts. The fire departments are very involved in emergency response too.
The 12 hours or six meetings were in keeping with the approximate length of the studies that we've been conducting as a committee. Perhaps I can ask the clerk for a reference point on the length of studies. I don't want to be greedy and dominate the committee's time, but it is a very important topic and I'd like to see us do a thorough job.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Peter Schiefke
Thank you very much, Mr. Bachrach.
If the committee is in agreement, out of respect for the time given by our witnesses, who have been so generous with us this evening, is it okay if I ask the witnesses to log off?