Transport Committee on May 30th, 2022

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Mississauga Centre, ON]

That's really important. If we want to address this challenge we're witnessing, we need to fully understand what causes it. As you're seeing now, it's good news that many people are wanting to travel again, but we're seeing delays in every segment of that sector. We're seeing delays at airlines. We're seeing delays at airports. We're seeing delays at taxi stands. We're seeing delays across international airports, such as Amsterdam, Paris, London, Geneva, and Sydney, Australia. There are many delays, and what that tells us is that these are not unique phenomena to Canada.

Having said that, we need to get to the bottom of it so we can address it. I've talked about several causes of the delays. One of them is a labour shortage, and that's why we were supporting CATSA to hire more people. Some of it concerns bottlenecks in the procedures. Some of it relates to people needing to be informed while waiting in line of what they need to do and what they shouldn't do in the security line.

We're addressing all of those aspects to help alleviate that pressure, and we're seeing results as we are speaking today. We're seeing cuts to that wait times that people experienced a few weeks ago.

[George Chahal, Liberal, Calgary Skyview, AB]

Thank you, Minister.

I'm going to turn it over to MP Rogers for a question.

[Churence Rogers, Liberal, Bonavista—Burin—Trinity, NL]

Thank you, Minister, for being here today.

You mentioned in your commentary the funding for Marine Atlantic and the constitutionally mandated ferry crossing from Port aux Basques to northern Sydney.

Could you provide the committee with an update on the new environmentally friendly ferry that's being constructed for that service, as well as the new administrative building that is being constructed in Port aux Basques?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Mississauga Centre, ON]

I have good news for you and for our friends in Newfoundland. The contract for the new ferry was awarded last year as you know, and steel cutting began this May. Construction is on track for delivery, as planned, in early 2024. This new vessel will replace the MV Atlantic Vision, and will ensure reliable and continuous ferry service to Newfoundland.

As for Port aux Basques, it's also on track. It's on scope and on budget. We're hoping that construction will start this summer for occupancy scheduled in 2023-24.

[Churence Rogers, Liberal, Bonavista—Burin—Trinity, NL]

Thank you, Minister. I greatly appreciate that good news for Newfoundland and Labrador.

I think the time is done, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

It is. Thank you very much, Mr. Rogers, and thank you, Minister.

Mr. Barsalou-Daval, you now have the floor for six minutes.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Alghabra, thank you for appearing before the committee. It is very much appreciated. I would also like to thank the staff members who are with you.

We are very happy to see people attending our meeting in person. It is good for morale, I think. I assume the other committee members feel the same way.

To begin, I would like to ask you something about the Lac-Mégantic file. It means a lot to me, as I expect it does to you and to your office.

Initially, this project was intended to bring people together. A bypass was going to be built. The project was meant to offer some comfort to the local people so the train would no longer travel through the middle of the city. Now, though, the project is dragging on and becoming controversial.

There is an outcry among community members. They are asking questions. In other words, the project is becoming problematic and there seems to be significant resistance.

Do you think that is because your government lacked transparency and took too long to move forward with this project?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Mississauga Centre, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to my colleague for his question and for his advocacy on Lac-Mégantic.

The new Lac-Mégantic bypass is a priority for our government. It is part of my mandate letter based on the commitment the Prime Minister made. Our government remains solidly committed to it. As my honourable colleague mentioned, undoubtedly now that we are getting to the final phases of the design and to the acquisition of the land and, hopefully, will start construction soon, things can get complicated because as we're negotiating with landowners to purchase their land, some questions and objections are rising because of this new project.

We are dealing with this—

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Thank you.

There have been a number of consultations about the bypass. Suggestions and recommendations have been made to the government, in particular to ensure that the project focuses on reconciliation. You have to understand that there is more involved than relocating a rail line and building a bypass. It is more of a community project to help people move on.

We have also made recommendations to make sure that this new line does not become a highway for oil shipments, and that we do not have longer trains and trains that travel even faster than before.

Do you think these recommendations could become part of the approach, which would make residents more amenable to the project?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Mississauga Centre, ON]

Mr. Chair, I welcome all of the recommendations and advice that I'm getting from our colleagues, including this committee. We are now at a critical phase. As my colleague mentioned, it's getting delicate, because many landowners want to negotiate a fair deal for themselves and ensure that the path of the bypass is acceptable to them.

We are working very diligently and delicately with our colleagues. This issue crosses partisan lines, Mr. Chair. I want to thank all of my colleagues in the House of Commons and here in committee who understand the importance of the bypass and have expressed a willingness to work together to address all of those questions.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Mr. Alghabra, I wish you would have had the opportunity to respond to the recommendation that I made. If you have the chance, I would appreciate any details you could provide to the committee.

There is an outcry now. I think though that if things had been done properly from the outset, that would not be the case now. If the project had not dragged on and if there had been good communication with the community, we might not be in the current predicament. Furthermore, there seems to be a sense of urgency right now: people want action on this project, but it has taken a long time for anything to happen.

Do you not think that your government is cutting corners now in order to adopt timelines quickly, since very little work has been done up to now?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Mississauga Centre, ON]

Mr. Chair, respectfully, I disagree with my honourable colleague. In fact, we have delayed the deadline that we had committed to because of the feedback that we got from community members, including the mayor and the neighbourhood in that area. We want to make sure that we address all of the questions.

We have representations on the ground there all the time. I have visited Lac-Mégantic, and so has my team. We are doing everything we can to maintain open channels of communication to respond to the questions that landowners and community members have. We are dealing with this issue with extreme delicacy, but, yes, we remain committed to building this project as soon as possible.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Mr. Alghabra, do you sense that you may have lost control of the project?

The project was supposed to cost about a hundred million dollars, but it is close to $400 million now. The community is showing resistance on the ground and it seems you have not taken into account the recommendations made to you thus far.

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Mississauga Centre, ON]

It's the opposite, Mr. Chair. We remain committed to this project. It's true that costs have gone up, like the do with every other major project, but we think it's really important that we do it right. If that means delaying the project a few months so that we can be continuously updating community members, responding to their questions and working with landowners, we will do that because we understand how important it is to maintain social licence for that project. That said, I also know that members, community members and residents of Lac-Mégantic want to see this bypass built. The delay is something they are reluctantly agreeing to, but we all agree that we need to build this as quickly as possible.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Thank you, Mr. Alghabra.

Thank you, Mr. Barsalou-Duval.

Next we have Mr. Bachrach.

Mr. Bachrach, you have six minutes. The floor is yours.

[Taylor Bachrach, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister, for being here today with your officials.

I would like to start with some questions about airport delays. It's obviously something on many people's minds.

Looking at the main estimates for CATSA, the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, for 2022-23, there is $567 million for CATSA. That's down significantly from last year. Last year there was $859 million of estimated expenditures for CATSA.

Can you explain why the money that is being spent on CATSA is decreasing precisely at a time when we're experiencing all of these severe staffing issues and delays for travellers at our major airports?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Mississauga Centre, ON]

In fact, there's an additional some $300 million on top of that in the supplementary estimates. We are restoring funding to last year's level; it has just been broken into different chunks.

[Taylor Bachrach, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Related to this, we're hearing many frustrations from workers and the unions that represent them when it comes to screening officers at airports and some of the working conditions. We're hearing about challenges with things like bathroom breaks. We're seeing extreme overtime and forced extensions of overtime, missed breaks, washroom access, all of these things as well as uncompetitive pay.

I'm wondering if the working conditions faced by screening officers and other airport workers is something you're concerned about. What role are these playing in the challenges you're experiencing hiring more screening officers for our airports?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Mississauga Centre, ON]

I'm always concerned when I hear of workplace complaints. It's important for Transport Canada, for me personally, and for our government that every worker has a safe and well-paid job environment.

I'm going to avoid talking about this particular case, because, as you know, CATSA is responsible for managing its relationship with its workplace. However, our expectation is that everybody who works for CATSA will have a safe, respectful, decent workplace that is free of harassment.

[Taylor Bachrach, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Are you concerned about current work conditions?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Mississauga Centre, ON]

I'm concerned about all work environment, and I think every employer, particularly the Government of Canada and Crown corporations, must be concerned with their own work environment, and must always pay attention to the feedback they get from their workers and unions and must work collaboratively with their unions to address all of these issues.

[Taylor Bachrach, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Minister, I'm going to move on to a different topic.

On March 9 you released a request for expressions of interest related to your government's high-frequency rail project between Toronto and Quebec City.

This is Canada's highest-volume rail corridor for passenger rail. This expression of interest that your government released envisions a private operator coming in, building this new high-frequency rail line, operating it, setting the fares, setting the schedules and also operating the other rail service besides high-frequency rail on that corridor.

To a lot of Canadians, this sounds like privatization—if not privatization of Via Rail, at least privatization of Canada's busiest passenger rail corridor.

Why is that your government's vision?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Mississauga Centre, ON]

Mr. Chair, I understand Mr. Bachrach's question and he's making some assumptions. Let me be very clear. First of all, this is great news for Via Rail and and Via Rail passengers. This is going to be the largest infrastructure project in Canada's history, and it's going to revolutionize that corridor. We want to build that corridor right. We are seeking input from different players in the sector.

By the way, in many of my meetings with other ministers around the world, I've been asking them for ideas and suggestions about how they operate their rail network.

What we are doing right now is that we're inviting stakeholders to submit proposals based on the scope of work we outlined. Of course, we're asking for for the to maintain a minimum standard, but we're also asking, can you do better?

This is a massive infrastructure project. It's going to continue to be a Via Rail project. This is not a privatization of Via Rail, but we want to build it the right way for Canadians to ensure that they get value for money.

[Taylor Bachrach, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Minister, you said earlier that this is a very exciting project for Via Rail. If this is such an exciting project for Via Rail, why did the CEO quit?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Mississauga Centre, ON]

Mr. Chair, I don't think you want this committee to do a performance review of individual employees or talk about someone's decision to quit. That is a human resources matter. It's a privacy matter. I want to wish Ms. Garneau the best. She has led Via Rail with integrity. I want to thank her for her service.

Via Rail still has a lot of projects on the horizon, not the least of which is this exciting corridor. I'm excited to play a small role in this project.