Madam Speaker, I rise to speak today on behalf of our caucus to support Bill S-2. It is an act to amend the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board Act and to make consequential amendment to another act.
The Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board Act was passed by parliament in June 1989. The act established an independent federal agency, the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board, or as it is commonly known the TSB.
The TSB has the mandate to investigate accidents into marine, rail, pipeline and air modes of transportation. A major feature of the TSB is its independence from the regulator, Transport Canada, and from all other departments of government. Its sole objective is to advance transportation safety, and this is indeed an admirable objective.
The original Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board Act contained a provision in section 63 of the act that required the mandatory review of the operation of the act.
This review was initiated in January 1993 by the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board Act Review Commission and its report was tabled in parliament in 1994. Meanwhile the Moshansky commission of inquiry into the March 1989 accident at the Dryden airport had completed its work and made recommendations pertinent to the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board Act.
Bill S-2 is the result of these changes suggested by both the Dryden investigation and by the Canadian Transportation Board Accident Investigation and Safety Board Review Commission. Bill S-2 proposes to do some tidying up of the already very solid piece of legislation.
Bill S-2 was introduced in the Senate on September 30, 1997. It went on to the Senate transportation and communications committee in which Bill S-2 received three amendments. One of these amendments was made by the Progressive Conservative senators whom at this time I would like thank for their hard work on this important piece of transportation safety legislation.
The Progressive Conservative amendment made in the Senate now allows the TSB to have two part time members. The current board consists of only four members and has one vacancy due to some trouble in finding a fifth full time member. The new provision is to allow part time membership as a positive step in maintaining a healthy TSB.
Liberal senators made two amendments to Bill S-2. One was a very good one and one was a very poor amendment. The first Liberal amendment was a transitional clause which ensures that pending or ongoing legal proceedings would be able to continue once the bill is passed. This is a positive move which protects against any gaps while Bill S-2 comes into force.
The second amendment made by a Liberal was not such a good idea. In fact it was so bad the Liberal government is now back-tracking and asking to have the amendment deleted. The amendment deals with the protection of land line recordings made in air traffic control systems.
The amendment was made without legal advice without transportation safety board consultation or, as far as we can tell, without consulting anyone about the possible the detrimental impact this amendment could have. The unintended affect of this amendment would deny the employer and the regulator access to information which the government has admitted is “necessary to ensure the quality and safety of some elements of air traffic service”.
The government in this case was asleep at the wheel. It should have been better prepared to deal with the bill. It has been a long while in the making. To let this occur shows just how little force that the government has had on the issue. It has been promised that the government will delete the amendment today. I hope it does that today because it is important that it should be done.
We are on top of the transportation safety issues in Canada and we will be ensuring that this legislation and any future safety legislation passed by the House will be positive step for Canada.
In conclusion, I should also like to note that our party's transportation critic, the hon. member for Cumberland—Colchester, has done an extensive investigation into the bill. It has been found to be solid and should warrant our support.
While it somewhat irregular for a bill which has been referred to a standing committee to brought back to the House without allowing the committee to do its work, hear any witnesses or perform the valuable work of parliamentary committees, we will be supporting this move today with regard to Bill S-2.
The reason for this is the need to give the transportation safety board the necessary changes to fine tune its operation as well as to make minor although important changes to the governing act. These changes will increase transportation safety for all Canadians. For this reason the Progressive Conservative Party will be supporting a quick passage today.