Mr. Speaker, rationalization, modernization, automation: all these buzzwords have been used to justify a situation which should have many Canadians, especially rural and northern Canadians, concerned about safe air travel.
The previous Canadian government undertook a plan of closures of air traffic control towers across northern Canada. Personnel was reduced, automated systems put in place, and in one case in Watson Lake, Yukon a system called Readac has been observed to record clear skies in a raging snowstorm.
The question of air safety is an extremely concerning issue. The Union of Canadian Transport Employees has raised its concern with members of Parliament about the possible elimination of emergency response services in category one to three airports.
I call on the government not to follow the previous government's path of playing with Canadian safety, to act in the interest of the safety of Canadians, and to look at the safety of these systems for the north.