Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak tonight to deal with a question I asked the transport minister on September 27, 2001.
I was talking about airport safety and all that is being done in airports by the government and security firms.
The disappointing thing is that the official languages commissioner, in her report, has said that, three years from now, airports that have been privatized will no longer come under the Official Languages Act.
The French speaking minority communities in Canada will certainly be affected by this.
I was also disappointed to learn what my predecessor, Doug Young, did when he was transport minister, in 1993. I have not always been surprised by his actions, but after so many years, I look back and I say that his privatization of airports made it possible for the government to get out of its obligation to ensure that services are provided in both official languages. It is a disgrace.
It is a disgrace that in 2001, we still need to talk about this in Canada. It is a disgrace that we have to fight, in the Standing Joint Committee on Official Languages, to get Air Canada, which is subject to the Official Languages Act, to respect both official languages in our country on airplanes. Now, we are being told that airports will no longer be subject to the Official Languages Act, which is a slap in the face.
In the Liberal Speech from the Throne, last year, the government said that it would take the issue of official languages very seriously, and that it would undertake the required efforts to ensure that they are respected in Canada.
These same Liberals sold off our airports to the private sector and included a clause in the contract whereby the airports would no longer be subject to the act in ten years' time. This took place in 1993. That means that in 2003, they can say, “it is not our problem”.
I asked the question to the transport minister, and I was pleased with his response. However, tonight I would like to hear the follow up to his answer, when he said:
I accept the advice of the hon. member and I am prepared to discuss this issue with my officials.
He even said that he was ready to introduce a bill.
I am anxious to hear from the parliamentary secretary, to know if he can clarify at all what the transport minister said, because it is very important that there be no difference in the use of the two official languages. Both languages must be respected in our country.