Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support what my colleague said about the need to renew the railway industry in this country. I agree with him that rail transportation is very important to Canadian shippers. Canada's rail system is the third largest in the world and railways play a significant role in supporting other sectors of the Canadian economy and providing jobs for thousands of Canadians.
Our shippers face intense competition from global markets and rightly demand an efficient transportation system to help them flourish. Our exporters need lower freight rates to compete globally.
The railways have taken several initiatives to make them more efficient. They are attempting to sell or abandon their unproductive lines. For example, CN plans to convey its lines in northern Quebec, very likely to short-line operators. CP is currently in discussions with the Irving Group about selling part of its network in New Brunswick.
These sales would help to preserve rail access for some shippers and free the railways of lines on which they cannot become profitable. As my colleague pointed out, federal and provincial impediments to the creation of short lines from unprofitable lines of the Class I railways unfortunately exist. I also agree on including a review of this issue as part of our rail renewal effort.
The railways need to make progress on other fronts as well. They must continue to improve the service which they provide to shippers if they are to compete against truckers and U.S. railroads. The railways must also continue to improve their relationships with the trucking industry so that the whole transportation system can become more efficient for Canadian shippers.
But the railways alone are not responsible for making this improvement. Labour is a key factor in determining the competitive position and viability of the railways. A skilled and dedicated workforce is essential to the successful operation of a railway.
As my colleague mentioned, rail workers are among the highest paid in the transportation industry. Their collective bargaining power, based on the railways' historical importance, has enabled them to negotiate very generous wage rates and enviable job security provisions.
However, these agreements are no longer realistic in today's rail operating environment. The railways demand greater flexibility in deploying their labour resources than the current collective agreements provide. Employees and unions, however, want to protect the jobs and benefits which they already have.
Management and labour need to come to a common understanding of the current situation. The railways are struggling to be profitable, which makes it harder for them to achieve the efficiency that Canadian shippers will badly need as the 21st century approaches.
All stakeholders must contribute to the rejuvenation of rail transport in Canada, and our government recognizes that it has a role to play in this regard.
Government must create a sufficiently flexible regulatory framework so that the railways can maximize efficiency.
I agree with my colleague that the current system hinders the railways in several respects. They must go through a long and arduous process to implement decisions which, in any other sector, could be made on a purely commercial basis.
While recognizing the need to take into account the interests of shippers and the communities involved, we also should consider allowing the railways greater freedom to restructure and modernize their networks.
Both levels of government need to look at how they might simplify the rules under which Canadian railways now operate in competition with Canadian truckers and U.S. railroads.
Like my colleague, I think that the taxation regime is significantly more burdensome for Canadian railways than for Canadian truckers or U.S. railroads. The government should assess the importance of this factor in making the railways profitable.
As regards the industry structure, my colleague mentioned the government's consideration of the unsolicited CP Rail offer for CN's eastern assets, as well as the government task force on CN commercialization.
I take this opportunity to emphasize that government must examine all options for restructuring the railways, bearing in mind that corporate restructuring by itself will not solve all the problems of this sector.
I have pointed to areas for consideration by several stakeholders-railways, labour and government-in the efforts to renew the Canadian rail sector. The regional roundtables and national roundtable on rail renewal, sponsored by Transport Canada, which my colleague discussed, will be helpful in providing this government with input from stakeholders on its efforts in this regard.
In conclusion, let me reiterate that this government is making a great effort to rejuvenate rail transport, but all parties have a role to play. We must all come together to help ensure the viability of the railways, not just for their sake, but for the sake of the many Canadians who depend on them.