Madam Speaker, it is a great opportunity for me to speak on behalf of the residents and constituents of Waterloo—Wellington to this very important issue.
I want to begin by pointing out that road collisions kill a lot of Canadians in any given year. That is a real problem. There were 3,000 last year alone. The cost of that is about $10 billion annually, which represents at least $30 million every day. That becomes a real problem obviously in terms of what it means not only from a financial point of view but also from the tragic loss of life and family points of view as well.
In addition more than 200,000 people are injured in road accidents every year. I can remember when I was chairman of the Waterloo regional police. For 10 years I was involved with police issues. It was a terrible tragedy when we had our traffic people come in and tell us of accidents that had occurred. It really was a problem. Certainly Canadians everywhere, wherever they live in this great country of ours, know the tragic circumstances that are part and parcel of that kind of a problem.
At the same time Canada can claim significant progress in road safety especially over the last 25 years. Fatalities have been cut in half while traffic has doubled. That is quite an impressive trend. Our roads are clogged and getting worse often as a result of overuse. Yet we see accidents and traffic fatalities declining.
Road safety in Canada is very much a shared responsibility. Our history of steady road safety progress attests to the high level of commitment on the part of governments in co-operation especially with governments and its partners, people in research, vehicle manufacturers, regulators, police, public safety organizations and individual Canadians.
It is my belief that the genesis of our progress is co-operation. This partnership and this kind of approach are embodied in an initiative known as Road Safety Vision 2001. This is a nation-wide effort. The objective is for Canada to have the safest roads in the world.
Although we have shown steady progress and achieved our vision clearly we have to continue to work hard in this very important area. Achieving the safest roads in the world is a complex and, it could be argued, challenging task for us. Surely no Canadian could disagree with the goal and the objective of this very worthwhile endeavour. It is fair to say that it will take a multi-pronged approach to realize our objective. The whole notion of Road Safety Vision 2001 has four overall safety priorities.
First, we must raise awareness of road safety issues. Second, we must improve communication, co-ordination and collaboration among agencies involved in road safety. Third, we need more effective and efficient enforcement to deal with problem areas such as non-use of seatbelts and impaired driving. I am very pleased to report that I have worked many years on impaired driving. I know it is a very important issue. A number of people have lost young people as a result of that totally unacceptable behaviour. Fourth, we must improve the collection and quality of data to support and assess road safety program efforts.
While these four priorities can be expressed succinctly, it is a more complex exercise to develop the supporting projects for such an ambitious goal. For each priority a number of projects are under way in each jurisdiction.
The first priority is to raise public awareness of specific road safety issues. Over the years education programs and campaigns have played an important role in helping the public develop safer driving habits, in turn leading to decreased injuries and fatalities for which we all hope and pray. Work is now under way to support further initiatives on the national occupant restraint program 2001.
We are focusing particularly on the safety of children in a multifaceted campaign to increase the proper use of child restraints. A video tape called “Car Time 1-2-3-4” uses four stand alone segments to explain the four stages of child safety in motor vehicles from rear facing infant seats to forward facing child seats, booster seats and the use of regular seatbelts. It is important that we develop this kind of educational program especially for our young people to become used to it, to become ingrained with it, and to become part and parcel of how best to be protected. Their parents play an important role in this instance.
The first three segments are targeted at parents and caregivers. The fourth segment is designed for viewing by children eight years and over. Packaged with each of these videos is a supporting facilitator's guide. Additional campaign materials include a set of posters and a website, which is part and parcel of the modern world, with information for parents and a section for children eight years and over. These materials have been distributed widely in Canada through public and private sector networks. This is something we on the government side think is important, and I believe rightfully so.
The second priority is to improve communication, co-ordination and collaboration among road safety agencies. There is good reason for this. It is obvious. It is essential to obtain and maintain the strong co-operation needed among all partners if we are to reach the goals I spoke about a minute ago.
A good example of an initiative in this second priority area is Transport Canada's creation of a stakeholders database. If we consult the Transport Canada website we see that there is already a wealth of road safety information available. Yet the site is still growing because of the additional links that we have included and maintain on an ongoing basis.
Through our website the public can access other road safety programs offered by all levels of government, by the national associations involved in this worthwhile endeavour and by organizations involved in road safety across Canada. There is a total of 70 programs to date in this very important initiative.
The third priority is closely related to the first two as it aims to discourage behaviour that jeopardizes road safety. In this priority area we are working with our partners to develop more efficient enforcement on problems such as impaired driving, non-use of seatbelts and high risk behaviours. Key among these in the third priority is a strategy to reduce impaired driving 2001. Each year until 2001, jurisdictions will conduct combined enforcement and awareness initiatives to reduce the incidence of this major road safety problem.
Apart from the normal support that Transport Canada offers on these activities, recently the department assisted with two specific studies to increase knowledge of the drinking and driving problem, a problem which is implicated in over 40% of driver fatalities every year.
It is no secret to any Canadian that it is important that we act in this area in a consistent and concerted way. It is simply unacceptable that people in this day and age, never mind in any day and age, would embark on drinking and driving. There are national organizations in place. Over the years I have been associated with a number of them, including Mothers Against Drunk Driving and others involving young people who have been very concerted in trying to do away with the kind of tragedy that comes with drinking and driving.
The fourth priority is to improve the collection and quality of road safety data. Transport Canada and its partners play key roles in collecting, standardizing and sharing common data. Good data are absolutely essential to establishing and conducting road safety programs and standards. All stakeholders agree that road safety data in Canada must be more timely and comprehensive.
In response and as a result, Transport Canada is chairing a national task force to look at this very important issue. It is one in which Canadians expect the government to take a lead role because it is very important. Canadians expect us to act.
The goal of realizing our shared safety vision, particularly the goal of making Canada's roads the world's safest, may seem an awesome task. At the same time the government and I believe it is attainable. We can improve our current standing in the world in this very important area. It is important that we on the government side, and hopefully all members of parliament, share in that vision and its worthwhile and noble objective.
At the same time I should point out that all the partners realize this goal will need to recognize our unique Canadian conditions: our large land mass, for example; our extreme and varied weather; great distances between major urban centres; and our heavy reliance on transportation to move both people and goods in our great and vast land.
At the end of the day I am confident we could begin to reach our shared goal of providing the safest transportation in the world. We could all continue, and hopefully we will, to work diligently to provide a future that is safe and accessible, one in which all Canadians could share.
After all, safety is a shared responsibility. The rewards are inherent in terms of saved lives and reduced injury and suffering as a result of the direction with which we on this side of the House, and hopefully all members of this great Chamber, can agree when it comes to road safety.
I encourage all members of parliament to ensure that we do the right thing in this very important area. We must ensure that we act in a fashion consistent with the values Canadians hold. We must share a common vision when it comes to road safety, knowing that it is the right thing to do and the best thing to do on behalf of Canadians wherever they live in our great country.