Madam Speaker, I would like to place a couple of comments on the record before putting a question to the hon. parliamentary secretary.
Bill C-22 is reasonable, prudent and protects the Canadian taxpayers. After all, the developers behind the Pearson deal were warned. The Liberal Party stated long before the 1993 election that it smelled something rotten in this deal. We put it on record that we would take this action if we found there was something rotten about the deal. The Nixon report confirmed that and now we have Bill C-22. It is the only course of action to take.
Leading up to my question I am glad the government is taking this action. It indicates to me that the government is committed to transparency and accountability.
The House probably already knows that airport authorities are being proposed for other centres in Canada, including my home city of Winnipeg. The hold-over model proposed by the former government for the proposed airport authority in Winnipeg is flawed.
In my opinion the accountability under the plan proposed by the Conservative government is weak. Transparency is not there. For example there is no provision for the public tendering process. The conflict of interest guidelines are a joke and representation can certainly be improved.
If we are going to go ahead with establishing airport authorities, be it one to replace the Pearson deal in Toronto or to replace other Transport Canada management at other centres in the country, let us get it right. Let us get it down so we do have public accountability, transparency and so on.
Perhaps the hon. parliamentary secretary could answer my questions. Are we going to establish further airport authorities of the kind proposed in Winnipeg, not for profit but still an airport authority, a kind of privatization? When these airport authorities are established will public accountability be the top priority?
I do not want private clubs operating airports. I want bodies that operate airports in the public interest and have public accountability at the top of the list.