Transport Committee on Jan. 9th, 2023

[The Clerk of the Committee, Ms. Ariane Gagné-Frégeau]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I have received the amendment from Madame Vignola.

I received it in French, and I will have it translated before sending it to members of the committee.

I would need clarification on the friendly amendments from Mr. Strahl to Ms. Vignola's amendments.

[Mark Strahl, Conservative, Chilliwack—Hope, BC]

Is Madame Vignola okay with what I proposed?

Perhaps that's the question, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Mrs. Vignola, do you agree with Mr. Strahl's proposal?

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Yes, I agree with what Mr. Strahl proposed.

In my amendment, I specified civilian witnesses and rights protection advocates. I suggested setting dates, but I agree with having some flexibility based on members', witnesses' and company representatives' schedules. I see no inconvenience. I think both of our amendments are relatively similar.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Thank you very much, Mrs. Vignola.

Mr. Bachrach, you have the floor.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I think we're coming toward agreement here. The challenge is going to be getting the words over to the clerk and making sure that the words work.

I have some proposed wording that I believe captures what Ms. Vignola and Mr. Strahl have offered. If it pleases the committee, I'd be happy to read the proposed wording.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

I'm looking over at the clerk. I think she's waiting with bated breath.

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

It is, “That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee commit to undertake special meetings to study the travel disruptions that occurred during the December 2022-January 2023 holiday period with a view of understanding why the disruptions occurred, holding those responsible accountable and identifying what actions are being taken to avoid a recurrence of the problems in the future;

“That, as part of the study, air passenger advocates, affected travellers; Sunwing, Air Canada and Westjet; the Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver airport authorities; VIA Rail and CN Rail; the Canadian Transportation Agency, Transport Canada and the Minister of Transport be invited to testify;

“And that, in consultation with the committee members, the chair be empowered to coordinate the resources and scheduling necessary to hold the first special meeting on Thursday, January 12, 2023, and that the testimony recorded at the special meeting become part of the committee's ongoing study on air passenger rights.”

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Thank you very much, Mr. Bachrach.

Madame Clerk, do you need any further clarification?

[The Clerk]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Bachrach, could you repeat the first line of the second paragraph that starts with “That, as part of the study, air passenger advocates”? What follows that?

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

Yes. I'd be happy to.

It is, “That, as part of the study, air passenger advocates, affected travellers; Sunwing, Air Canada and Westjet; the Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver airport authorities; VIA Rail and CN Rail; the Canadian Transportation Agency, Transport Canada and the Minister of Transport be invited to testify”.

I apologize if the commas and semicolons aren't in proper order there. It's something to that effect.

[The Clerk]

We have the motion here.

I will circulate it to everyone, Mr. Chair, if it's your request.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Yes. Please do, unless members feel that they understand the motion as it was spoken. At that point, we can proceed to the vote.

Do we have any objections to that, Madame Vignola or Mr. Bachrach?

Mrs. Vignola, you have the floor.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

I don't disagree. I just wanted to make sure that after “2023” in the first paragraph, the sentence was amended to reflect what I proposed to “study how companies responded to these disruptions”.

I also want to know if Mr. Bachrach's proposed amendment opens the door to holding another meeting next week, the week after January 12. It wasn't clear to me if this proposal included holding another meeting.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

I can clarify. The proposal only mentions that January 12 will be the first meeting, but there will be more. The dates are not set, however, which gives more flexibility to communicate with witnesses and coordinate committee members' schedules to see which dates work for everyone.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Are we talking about holding meetings only after the House comes back?

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

I think the committee wants to look at this issue as quickly as possible. The January 12 date is a priority. Afterwards, as much as possible, the committee wants to hold meetings before the House returns at the end of January.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Is it necessary to include that aspect in the motion?

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

If you want to. You are the members of this committee.

We are publicly stating that we really want to hold our meetings as soon as possible. If we are able to confirm witnesses' availability, and committee members agree to hold another meeting next week or the week after, we will do so.

The decision is in the committee members' hands.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Thank you for clarifying.

Indeed, just as you did, I concluded that members of the committee want to give this file due diligence before the House resumes, while respecting everyone's scheduling constraints. Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Thank you, Mrs. Vignola.

Madam Clerk, I think there are no objections from members to proceeding with a vote on the motion by Madame Vignola as amended by Mr. Strahl and Mr. Bachrach. If you want to proceed with a recorded division, it would be greatly appreciated.

[The Clerk]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

As mentioned, the vote is on the motion as amended.

(Motion as amended agreed to: yeas 11; nays 0 [See Minutes of Proceedings])

Thank you very much, Madam Clerk.

Not to get too technical—I just want to make sure—was that a vote on the amendment or was that a vote on the motion itself? Were we required to vote on the amendment first and then the motion as amended?

You have the floor, Mr. Berthold.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

If I may,

the clerk requested a vote on the motion as amended.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Very well. Perfect.

That is a good day's work, colleagues.

I want to thank you sincerely for giving your time today to discuss this very important subject for all Canadians.

I'm looking forward to seeing many of you at Thursday's meeting, when we will begin the special meetings with witnesses.

With that, this meeting is adjourned.