Madam Speaker, I want to say from the outset that our party fully supports the idea of proceeding this morning with the second and third readings of the bill.
No one wishes to see any accident happen in the transportation sector. However, if some unfortunate accident does occur during the summer and requires a quick intervention by the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board, it will now be possible—thanks to this bill—to have improved investigations to—as I mentioned in a previous speech—make sure that prevention measures are complied with.
When an accident occurs, we would like to make sure, through the recommendations that may be made following a serious and impartial investigation, that such accidents do not recur. Once again, the purpose of this measure is to protect the health of Canadians and Quebeckers, who have confidence in our transportation industry. So, let me emphasize again that our party agreed to the quick passing of this bill, before the House adjourns for the summer.
As I mentioned before, I think it was last Friday in my speech at a previous stage, our party regrets that this bill was initiated in the Senate by unelected representatives, political hacks, both Liberals and Conservatives, who think they have the authority to impose legislation on this House.
In Canada, we have a bicameral system. We hope this system can be replaced, but we have our doubts. Surveys in Quebec have shown that the vast majority of Quebeckers—74% or 78%—want to see the Senate abolished, whereas the rest of Canada wants a triple E Senate, a strengthened Senate.
This confirms what the Bloc Quebecois has been saying for a long time, namely that the system does not work. We are telling Quebeckers who want to see the Senate abolished and to recover part of the $54 million they pay in taxes for that institution that Quebec's political sovereignty is one way to achieve that goal. The Senate would no longer exist.
We deplore the fact that this bill was introduced in the Senate and that the government did not seize this opportunity to fix an archaic and outdated system whereby members of these quasi-judicial bodies are appointed by the governor in council. We know what this means.
For those who are watching us and who do not know, the governor in council is the patronage machine of the PMO which determines who are the most loyal friends of the government. We may think of Senator Ross Fitzpatrick, who was the fundraiser for the Liberal Party in the western provinces—