Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Transport thinks he can protect Canadians from Air Canada if he is provided with more regulatory powers. I hate to disillusion the minister but there is a better way.
The Canadian airline industry is in its current predicament because previous government regulations did not provide healthy competition. Last fall the competition commissioner stated that the best way to protect the Canadian travelling public was by fostering competition.
While the minister wants to cast himself as the white knight doing battle with a dominant Air Canada, the solution is much simpler. Ensure that Canadians have a choice. If the minister is truly concerned about the Canadian consumer, he will take the necessary steps to foster competition in the airline industry and give Canadians the power to regulate the industry themselves by exercising their right to choose.