Transport Committee on March 21st, 2022

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Mississauga Centre, ON]

Arctic sovereignly is incredibly important to our government, and I know that it is important to Canadians and important to members of this committee. Our government will continue to assert our sovereignty in the north, and has been, by investing in critical infrastructure and by partnering with the territorial governments, and we will continue to do so. We take our partnership with territorial governments extremely seriously.

I can tell you, from Transport Canada's perspective, that we have dedicated a significant amount of our national trade corridor infrastructure investment to the north, so this is part and parcel of our assertion of our sovereignty in the north.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Unfortunately, you're out of time, Mr. Barsalou‑Duval.

Thank you, Minister.

Next we have Mr. Bachrach.

Mr. Bachrach, the floor is yours. You have two and a half minutes.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Minister, my next questions are around the shipping-related sanctions. I'm wondering how many Russian-owned or -registered ships and fishing vessels the government expects will be affected by the sanctions that have been announced.

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Mississauga Centre, ON]

We were monitoring when the order came into place four vessels, and those vessels were directed to avoid entering Canadian waters. They all got diverted. We are constantly monitoring and broadcasting our orders to ensure that all operators are aware of the orders.

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

Thank you, Minister.

Since the ban came into effect, has the government observed any Russian-owned or Russian-registered ships transferring their cargo to ships sailing under different countries' flags in order to complete delivery of the products they're carrying?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Mississauga Centre, ON]

We've seen, as I mentioned, some ships be diverted, based on our orders. The ban restricts Russian-owned and Russian-flagged vessels from entering Canadian waters, and I can tell you that, as of right now, no incursion has occurred and all the vessels that were attempting to enter have been diverted.

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

Thank you, Minister.

My next question is around how the government determines the ownership structure and whether the government is communicating that information to ports so they can effectively enforce this ban. I know that the ownership structure of the shipping companies can be quite complex and often the shipping companies run under flags of different countries for tax purposes or what have you.

Is Transport Canada communicating that information effectively to ports so they're able to implement the ban?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Mississauga Centre, ON]

Indeed, my colleague brings up a relevant and important point. Yes, sometimes some of these ownerships are highly complicated, so we are regularly communicating with ports, with shippers and with operators to share not only the letter of the ban but also the spirit of the ban, and we are constantly evaluating based on the information we have.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Thank you very much, Mr. Bachrach, and thank you, Minister.

The next five minutes go to Ms. Lantsman.

Ms. Lantsman, the floor is yours.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

I'm probably going to split my time with Mr. Jeneroux.

I have a couple of questions, Minister.

I just wanted to change gears. You talked a lot about the notice to airmen that was issued on February 27. How long does it take to issue a notice, from discussion to operationalizing it?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Mississauga Centre, ON]

It can be done very quickly. The time is mostly spent on the analysis of the type of NOTAM, but the order can be issued very quickly.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Would you say immediately?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Mississauga Centre, ON]

Yes. Obviously, there's still paperwork necessary, but it would be within hours.

As I said, the time is mostly spent on the analysis of the nature of the notice and the type of the notice.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Is that the primary way to communicate to airmen to watch out for this, to help you with the potential threat?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Mississauga Centre, ON]

A NOTAM is used for a variety of purposes to enhance safety and security. When a NOTAM is issued, it's shared with Nav Canada, and then Nav Canada has the ability and the responsibility of sharing it with operators.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Minister, would you communicate that first, or would the notice go out first?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Mississauga Centre, ON]

For example, in the situation with the Russian NOTAM, we had given Nav Canada a heads-up before it was issued publicly, so they would be prepared and have a lead time, but we would issue it publicly and then Nav Canada would enforce it.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Do you think the system is agile enough, if you felt that you needed to communicate that publicly first and have the NOTAM go out after?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Mississauga Centre, ON]

I think the system is quite agile, and we've demonstrated that in this situation.

Again, I would welcome the committee's advice on this, but I feel that the system has demonstrated its agility.

[Matt Jeneroux, Conservative, Edmonton Riverbend, AB]

Thank you, Minister. It's a pleasure to have you here before the committee, and I appreciate that you are answering most of the questions yourself.

At the beginning of your comments, you talked about the grounding of two Russian civilians at the Yellowknife airport but didn't go into a lot of specifics about who they were and what they were doing there. From the briefing we received, it looked like they were on an Arctic expedition. However, I think Canadians would like to know that they're not a threat. Are they still there? What's happening with that particular flight?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Mississauga Centre, ON]

Let me be clear that the investigation that was generated because of this incident was not because of the individuals, per se. It was because it appeared that the jet had violated the terms of the NOTAM. The terms of the NOTAM ban any flights that are operated or are under the control of Russians. When—

[Matt Jeneroux, Conservative, Edmonton Riverbend, AB]

Sorry. I just want to give you the opportunity to clarify that there's no threat to Canadians right now with those individuals or that plane being up in Yellowknife. You can say that?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Mississauga Centre, ON]

Yes. I can say that, Mr. Chair.

[Matt Jeneroux, Conservative, Edmonton Riverbend, AB]

Great.

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Mississauga Centre, ON]

I can also say that the plane has left. I'm not going to comment on where the individuals are, but there are no threats to Canadians and Canadian security.