The amendment I tabled contains exactly the same elements as your motion, Mr. Barsalou‑Duval, including the two two-hour meetings and the list of witnesses. We even subsequently agreed to add the Association des professionnels du dépannage du Québec. We voted for that proposal. My amendment proposes that, immediately after hearing the last witness, the committee issue instructions to make recommendations and move forward.
Today, my colleagues are saying that I am filibustering, but they challenged the chair's decision by saying that my amendment exceeds the scope of the motion, when in fact, I used the wording of the motion to ensure that it is directly aligned with the committee's needs. I removed the part about document production, which would be a lot of work for the government machinery, as you admitted, Mr. Barsalou‑Duval. I spoke for 20 minutes about the administrative burden this could create. Today, I am going to prove to you that our public servants are working hard to solve the problem related to the Driver Inc. scheme and that they should not be assigned to other tasks. Whether it comes from public servants or ministers' offices, producing these documents will require incredible communication and effort, when we already have a lot of material. More than 40 witnesses came to share their views with us.
Lastly, about the link on the Bloc Québécois website to make donations to the party, the worst excuse I have heard is that they are not responsible for the website. Just tell the webmaster not to put pop-up windows asking for donations on a page where testimonies are published from people who lost family members in an accident. I know it is in the Conservatives' wheelhouse, since they even supported the Bloc Québécois' initiative by saying that it was normal to click on a button to make a donation, but you can choose where to place the button, and I will not back down on that. I did not overdramatize it. It is shocking to hear the truth, and I can tell you that the people who contacted me after visiting this website found it appalling. If you think this is a waste of time, think again. There are people who are offended by that.
Mr. Chair, it is unfortunate that we are at this point this morning, when there was a proposal on the table. They did not even want to discuss it. I came here with good intentions. I wanted to speak as little as possible. I proposed a reasonable amendment that is directly related to today's topic, but we cannot even get to the subject, because the Conservatives and the Bloc Québécois have formed a coalition to use a standing order that requires the signature of a majority of members.
I know it is shocking when people say that it is collusion, that it is a lie, that it is a false truth or that it distorts reality by using a small part of a sentence for political purposes, but we need only read the comments on the Bloc Québécois website to see that they are not false allegations.
The Driver Inc. file is extremely important to us. I am therefore incredibly disappointed today, because I would have liked us to get ready to resume the committee's work on Thursday. We could move forward on our files. I would like to talk about ports, among other things. The Minister of Finance, who gave a speech in the House, prepared all the committees for what is coming. There are some extremely important elements in the budget, including $77 million to settle the Driver Inc. file, which the Conservatives and the Bloc Québécois opposed when they voted against the budget. We have already started a first phase by assigning public servants to the T4A slip file, but we want to go even further and resolve the whole issue.
Ontario took the lead on driver training a long time ago, but it is now Quebec's turn to take care of it. In recent days, the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec, the SAAQ, published on its website the new standards for obtaining a class 1 licence, which will come into force on December 15. This will ensure that drivers receive a minimum level of training. That is how you move the issue forward. These are the kinds of recommendations we want to ask the analysts to draft. The longer we delay the process, the less we will be able to make recommendations to improve road safety and help the road transport community and businesses.
Could we not give these businesses some breathing room, since they are facing a tax injustice that has existed since 2011? We have heard from so many witnesses that this needs to be addressed as quickly as possible, and I agree with that. I know that the other witnesses will tell us the same thing. To correct this injustice, investments have to be made and human resources have to be allocated to the right place. There is a way to do it together. It was as simple as that this morning. We could have moved forward. You would have had ample opportunity to undermine the process in other studies. You can do all kinds of things to hurt us, because you have the majority. As long as this nice coalition of yours is maintained, there will be no problem. You can decide everything. You can overturn the chair's decisions, as you just did. You can do anything.
No, we are not going to let you do that. We will stand our ground, for all the reasons I have given you, on behalf of public servants, committee employees, stakeholders and witnesses that we heard and who want us to make recommendations. The integrity of the trucking industry has been affected by the Driver Inc. scheme for too long, and we had the opportunity to solve a lot of things at once by supporting the proposal that was made this afternoon.
It is important to respect the provinces' and territories' jurisdictions, especially when it comes to information sharing. We are already a model, but we have to do better. So I would like to see that in the recommendations.
The committee must be an advocate for the Drive Inc. file. We have to show that we are serious and make recommendations that will help. We have to stop using accident victims. That is primarily a provincial responsibility, not a federal one, as well as licensing, penalties, inspections and roadside testing. We have a role to play and we can have an impact on the overall picture, particularly on international and interprovincial trade, but we must use victims as guinea pigs during our study. We really need to listen to them and pay attention. We have to hear them in camera and offer them the opportunity to testify publicly if they want.
In freight transportation, an extremely important economic pillar is being affected as we speak. We heard from trucking companies that have been around for generations and that are now in bad trouble. As members of Parliament, we can really react and tell these companies that we are there for them and that we will support them. Today, we have the opportunity to send them a message. We have an opportunity to make recommendations to the government and to act in good faith by adopting the amendment I proposed at the beginning of the meeting.
Seventy per cent of goods are transported by truck. Drivers are the backbone of the economy. These are people to whom we should be grateful, because they have a certain responsibility to the Canadian economy. They are indispensable for the economy, for the supply chain and for food, as well. If you can eat today, it is thanks to them, because they bring the food to markets. They also transport materials and medications. It is a critical workforce.
I have always protected the trades workforce, including drivers and operators, such as crane operators. I have been a big advocate for trades workers all my life. I have been around drivers all my life, and I can tell you how important it is to have good drivers and workers who deserve to be recognized in the labour market.
There is also the issue of the labour shortage. We are not doing anything to help these people by not moving forward. It is a good thing that we had this study and that we started off on the right foot with a good list of witnesses. It is good that we listened to the witnesses and asked them the right questions. Until then, things were going well. However, not wanting to put an end to it is something else. We have a responsibility to finish the study, and we had a very good opportunity to do so today, at the beginning of the meeting.
The trucking model is broken. It is shocking to hear that if you want to be competitive, you have to cheat. That means that companies that are honest and do things right are penalized. That should not be the case.
The pressure of competition is intense. That is what we felt during testimonies. The companies charge per kilometre, but they have the same costs. We have heard from witnesses about the vehicle operating and maintenance costs, which are all on the rise. Parts are getting more and more expensive. However, there are people on the road who are less well trained and with trucks in poorer condition that have been subject to fewer inspections. Some drivers got their licences in 48 hours. It is like they found it in a Cracker Jack box. That is what we heard. It is inconceivable that this situation would be allowed to continue.
The Government of Quebec has taken action, and that could have been done a long time ago. However, once again, this is not a federal jurisdiction. We should not interfere in Quebec's jurisdiction. In short, Quebec has taken a big step by improving training. The SAAQ changed course. As of December 15, which is 14 days from now, all drivers will be required to take mandatory training. They will not be allowed to learn on the job anymore. They will no longer learn French by reading signs. They will learn how to drive a truck at a recognized Quebec school or through other training. The hours are going to be mandatory.
So we are going to give drivers the professional role they should have. When health care professionals coming from other countries want to work in Canada, they have to retake almost all the exams they have taken during their schooling because they have to be certified. However, when a driver arrives from abroad and shows that he has a driver's licence, he is allowed to start driving right away. From now on, training will be required. The requirements will be more comprehensive. That should be one of the recommendations we will include in our report with the help of the analysts. Improving training will, I hope, have an impact on the number of accidents. Accidents involving trucks are serious accidents, because trucks are heavy vehicles that often carry extremely heavy loads. It is extremely dangerous.