Mr. Speaker, I want to rise today to thank the hon. Minister of Transport for bringing the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Conference on International Civil Aviation to the attention of this House.
In the absence of our critic for transport, the member for Kootenay West-Revelstoke, I too would like to extend the best wishes of my party to former Ambassador Reid, Monsieur Jean Fournier, and Mr. Stanislav Krejcik.
We as Canadians can be proud of the fact that the International Civil Aviation Organization is located in Montreal. We should never take for granted the high esteem in which our country is held in these matters.
International Civil Aviation Organization standards, more commonly known as ICAO standards, affect safety and security standards even at airports serving many of our smaller communities. These same airports are now in the process of being transferred from the federal government to local authorities and in some cases even to private operations. I hope the minister will ensure that reasonable standards are maintained both at privatized airports and in the potentially privatized air navigation system, while also ensuring that the system does not become overly regulated with bureaucratic policies.
I am sure that ICAO will continue to lead the way to ensuring safe international standards throughout the aviation world and that other organizations, both governmental and private, will recognize the need and capabilities of countries to work together to resolve items of conflict in other areas.
On a personal note, all of us in this House, especially those of us from ridings that are basically only accessible by air realize the importance of safe air travel.
I wish to congratulate the International Civil Aviation Organization for its fine work on behalf of all of us. I wish it well in the future.