Mr. Speaker, I do not know if I can follow the same act. I suggest that this debate did not come to the floor of the House like the great historic transportation debates that took place in the past.
If we went back to Confederation and the years thereafter, the House and the committee spent months on the great transportation debate: The building of a railway across Canada, the national dream. The only thing in the last 100 years even comparable to that was a little bill called the national highway strategy program which was a piece of paper.
This is the big issue for this century. In the closing days of this century this will be the biggest transport issue since 1900 until the new millennium comes in. The most unfortunate thing is that the House first learned of everything that was going on through the papers. Most of what Canadians know about this great debate and the merger they learned through the papers.
I sit on the transport committee. I have enjoyed very much talking to some very key witnesses. Canadians phone me and ask if the same rules apply to everybody. They want to know if there is a level playing field. I cannot answer those questions but I have my suppositions. However, whatever happens in this great debate that will always remain in the minds of the people.
I want to congratulate my colleagues in the Bloc Party for bringing this to the floor of the House. Whether I agree with the 10% increase or not is not the issue. In the past, when we had these great transportation debates, we always brought in capital from all over the world to help us. This happened with the railway and originally with the airline industry.
What we have here is an emergency. I did not create that emergency. None of the parties on this side of the House created the emergency. It was going on. Unfortunately, the story broke when the House was not in session.
It was not only awkward for me and other members of the committee to hear statements being made when we were in our home constituencies, but two days before we arrived here I read in the paper who the new chairman of the transport committee was going to be.
I do not know if that was a charade, but we usually go through the actions of a committee meeting before making a decision as to who the chair will be. The second order of business would be to choose what topic we were going to discuss. That was pre-announced. I am not arguing about that because I think that would have happened anyway. What I am arguing about is that, unfortunately, and I am not blaming anyone, the House will never have the time, because of the urgency of this matter, to properly debate the issue.
I see the minister is here. I believe he has given us a timetable of something like November 26. Our last witness in the transport committee will appear on November 24.
Mr. Speaker, I failed to announce that I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca.
What was the immediate Canadian reaction? What are some of the questions? My phone lines have been busy with people asking if this is a fair procedure. The government will have to answer that. Is it a fair procedure?
The next question they ask is: Will it keep the regional airlines intact? Coming from the west, they have fallen in love with WestJet. We have received some assurances in committee that would take place but I would like to see that on paper.
The fundamental question is: If there is only one dominant domestic air carrier within Canada in the future, could it really be said that a monopoly exists given that there is a relative freedom of entry into the industry? I think that is a big question.
Provided a carrier can obtain a licence and meet the initial financial fitness test, should financial fitness be assessed on an ongoing basis? We have used the word “dominant” to replace the word “monopoly”, with the exception of some regional carriers. I submit that we will, even if it is not a necessity, go to a dominant, monopoly carrier.
I have to ask if that is really necessary at this time. I am not so concerned about where we get the money. I would suggest to my friends in the Bloc that I do not care where the money comes from for these ventures, whether it comes from Germany, France or the United States. In the history of the United States, when it developed much of its money came from Germany.
At any one time we have always had about 10% of the population of the United States. We have heard from witnesses that our major role and major profit in this industry goes south. That part does not worry me. I do not think we should have limitations. That is where I disagree with the Bloc.
I wish I was in a position today to make some guarantees about the future of the airline industry in Canada. Unfortunately, we have only had but a few weeks with just a few hours left before the decision is made. Let us hope for the travelling public, those who must use the airline, that it is a good decision and that the House will in the future be notified in plenty of time to have a debate on this great issue, as it did with the railways and other great transportation issues, on the floor of the House and in no other place.