A member of the opposition says there is too much bureaucracy. We want to get rid of that too and that is what we will try to do.
There are repair facilities in one part of the country and head offices in other parts. Pilots on both sides are lobbying. Members of parliament are getting antsy. They are being pushed in one direction or the other.
The main point is what is in the best interests of the public. Can they get access to their communities? Will the fares be as cheap as possible because there is enough competition in the marketplace? Can they have better flights and faster routing using other systems? That is what we are examining. As far as I know, every time the government has changed regulations it has been for the better. That is what I hear when I am in the transport committee.
The Bloc is trying to tell us that we should stick to the 10% rule. It may be what we end up doing. However, it must not be in the legislative framework as the Bloc is trying to do here today, to force us to make a decision based on something that we do not know anything about.
These two airlines are competing to see who is going to take the position when the dust has settled and the shareholders have decided. These are corporate moves. We will be faced with having to make a decision. The minister has listened to public forums and gathered all the needed information. He asked the Competition Bureau to look at it. He asked the regulators to look at it. When this offer comes before us we want all our options open. We will make a decision and the decision will be that Canadians will still effectively have control.
The question is will there be effective control? Will small communities be serviced? Will the rights of the workers be respected and looked after? Will their contracts be looked at so they do not lose benefits they are currently getting? Will that be handled in a proper fashion?
There are all the other balanced approaches we have to use to make sure there is competition in the marketplace, to make sure that Canadians have more options and cheaper fares. These are the things that need to be looked at and they cannot be looked at with our hands tied behind our backs by saying it is going to be 1%, 2%, 3% or whatever.
Times do change. I said earlier that Bishop Wright got up in church and said that people would not fly. People do fly and as a matter fact, we can now go to the moon.