Mr. Speaker, let me read again the motion now before the House. It says:
That this Committee take note of the difficulties experienced in the Canadian airline industry.
To listen to the Minister of Transport, the industry's problems are all linked to security issues. He told us that he has solved all these problems. He has had or will have changes made to cockpits. He was very eloquent about the viability of the industry. What he promised is that he would look after things if the industry ever got into trouble.
That is what the Minister of Transport had to say in a debate that is surely watched by some air industry workers. After all, Air Canada did announce 9,000 layoffs; Air Transat, 1,300; Rolls Royce, 22; and Pratt & Whitney, 600. All the government has to say for itself today is that security in the cockpit will be improved, which brings us back to the same old question “Does the government have a plan? If so, will it tell us what it is?”
There have been requests from the airline industry. Air Canada was one of these. Can we know today what Air Canada asked for, and what the government's financial situation is? How is it capable, with the taxpayer money, of predicting the impossible, this tragic and horrible situation that occurred last September 11, putting the safety and security of air travellers in jeopardy as well as the future of an entire industry that is highly prosperous in Canada, and in Quebec in particular?
In a debate as important as this one today, an emergency debate on the airline industry, all that we get out of the Minister of Transport is “We have improved security”. As was necessary. It was what everyone would want to see to restore travellers' confidence. That was obvious. The decision has been made to reinforce cockpits, and we agree with that. What about the 13,602 jobs lost in the airline industry in recent weeks? What about that? That is the debate we thought we would have seen develop here in the House today.
The Bloc Quebecois will give its position to the minister. That is what he wanted and we are prepared to do so. What we want is for the airline employees not to be the ones that have to pay through job losses for the entire problem arising out of the September 11 events. That is what we want. That is what the 13, 602 workers want from the minister. They want to have job security, as far as the events of September 11, which were not of their doing, are concerned. It is as simple as that.
Today then, it is clear: the airlines must be helped, in all sectors, the men and women who have lost their jobs or will do so in the weeks to come, because of this dreadful situation to which they had no connection and for which they assuredly did not ask to lose their jobs. That is what we are proposing: to help the struggling airlines and the entire aeronautical and aerospace sector to absorb all the repercussions.
We are now seeing the domino effect of these sad events. People are less inclined to fly. Airlines are losing money. This has an impact on aircraft manufacturers and parts suppliers. The whole industry will be penalized. If we look even further, there are repercussions also on the tourism industry and on everything international tourism could bring to Quebec and Canada.
We want to know if the government is willing to deal with all job losses resulting from events beyond the control of any of the employees who have been laid off since September 11. That is what we want to hear today. The government has the money. We know that the accumulated surplus since the beginning of the year is estimated at nearly $10 billion, and the government has access to that money. Is it ready to sit down and negotiate with businesses, to find ways of getting the industry back on its feet? That is what we want to hear. We want to know if the government is willing to help all sectors that have suffered losses because of the sad events of September 11, be it the airline industry, the aeronautics industry, international tourism or any kind of tourism.
That is what we are hoping to see develop tonight. That is what the Bloc Quebecois will focus on over the next few days. We will not stop asking questions because we want to know what the government plan is and what the airlines' demands are.
If we take the case of Air Canada, we know very well that, prior to September 11, Air Canada had made requests. Cuts had already been announced. There was talk of 3,500 jobs being lost. In Air Canada's annual report to shareholders on May 15, the president, Mr. Milton, had already announced that there would be staff cuts in his company, which were to be achieved through voluntary departures, authorized leave, and attrition. No one would have their job ripped away from them. This was the policy Air Canada had announced.
There was also a request for loans. We were told that there would be a request for $500 million in loans to help buy new aircraft. The company asked for a $500 million reduction in federal government airport fees, as well as a reduction in fuel tax. These were requests made by the company prior to September 11.
These are requests about which the Bloc Quebecois will be very demanding. We do not wish to enrich the shareholders of a private company without due cause. We want everyone to be very clear on this: we are prepared to agree to assistance to the industry for all the problems associated with the September 11, 2001, attacks; but the industry will have to pay for mistakes it made on its own prior to September 11, 2001.
Earlier, the minister told the House that errors were made along the way. What the public needs to understand is that those mistakes were not made only by the industry. The government also made mistakes when planning the integration of the two airlines, because that is what we are talking about here, the integration or merger of two airlines.
Under the circumstances, we have to be able to put things in perspective for the benefit of those who are watching us. We need to cover the losses incurred by the industry since September 11. Investors and shareholders have to face the music for what happened before September 11, just like the other companies have to do.
In a press release, WestJet announced it was doing fine, that, despite the tragic events, it was in top shape financially. It was in great shape at the beginning of the year, unlike Air Canada. As we can see, some companies did well.
It is important to tell the men and women who are watching us, who work hard to pay their taxes, that the federal government will not spend their money to correct the mistakes made by some airlines managers. We will leave it to the shareholders to assess the decisions made by the CEOs and the boards of those companies.
To deal with the serious impact a tragedy like the terrorist attacks of September 11 has had on the airline industry, the aeronautics industry and the international tourism sector, what we want and what we need is a governmental action plan. We know the federal government has money. Some of that money could be made available following a thorough debate, and not just the rhetoric we heard from the Minister of Transport tonight.
This evening, on the strength of a motion as simple as “That this Committee take note of the difficulties experienced in the Canadian airline industry”, the minister managed to boast about the merits of his decisions on security, for which he guaranteed that, if the industry had a problem, it would have the support of his government.
It seems to me that the minister must reveal now or never the demands of the industry so we, with him, may be able to make recommendations. How much money does the government have to help out the industry and the 13,602 people who, as we speak, have seen the layoff notices: 9,000 men and women at Air Canada will lose their job, 1,300 employees of Air Transat, 2,680 people at Bombardier, 22 at Rolls Royce and 600 at Pratt & Whitney. So, we have 13,602 people who have paid their taxes like everyone else and who did not deserve to lose their job.
As the result of a single day, a single tragic event we all deplore, they are today, with their families and their children, practically out in the street. This event occurred, and the government made no provision for special assistance or for money to be available to help these 13,602 people and the others who will join them in the coming days.
We hope there will not be others. We do not want to be prophets of doom, we want no more loss of jobs, but these are the logical consequences of the domino effect in an industry that strongly felt the backlash of a catastrophe Canada had never imagined.
We hope that the government makes the right decisions and that it tables in the House a plan with figures, the demands of the various types of industry and the amounts that should be made available so that the men and women who have lost their job may see the light at the end of the tunnel.