Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleagues the House who gave me the opportunity to participate, along with my colleague, the House Leader of the Official Opposition, in the debate on a bill that is extremely important for the country. In my opinion, Canada was built on the railway.
If there is something that MPs, aside from the hon. member for Trinity—Spadina, do not talk about in this House very often, it is rail service, which is not necessarily seen as a priority. It is sad to see that, since the rise of the automobile, we talk less and less about the railway, on which Canada was built. It is a subject that is overlooked. From a transportation perspective, it is a big mistake to have allowed the railway to slowly be forgotten over the past 50 years.
In Gatineau, our infrastructure takes a beating. Temperatures between -40oC in the winter and +40oC in the summer and a large number of heavy trucks and other vehicles damage our infrastructure. Our bridges and roads are constantly in need of repair, if they do not need to be replaced completely. This creates urban sprawl. It is difficult to deliver goods.
I was shocked to see the statistics related to Bill C-52, given the tireless efforts of the NDP member for Trinity—Spadina, who even introduced a private member's bill in this regard. People may not be aware that 70% of our goods are transported by rail. Of course, this is a whole sector of trade.
We have a government that prides itself on always being there for the economy and on having action plans. However, the government needs to take action rather than just talking about its action plan.
I asked the Minister of State for Transport a question about the fact that this has taken five years. I would like to believe him and I find it quite amusing that the government refers to time in terms of what is happening here. Five years may go by quickly, as though it is only nanoseconds, but at some point, we should not be satisfied with this type of situation.
One thing that frustrates me about this House is how long everything takes. When we know that the stakeholders are in agreement, when we know what the problem is, we have to stop playing petty politics and simply resolve the matter. That is why we were elected in the first place and why we are here in this House. Our job is to get these things done.
The leader of the second opposition party wants us to speed up the process. No one opposes the idea of speeding up the process as long as we know that everyone is willing to really listen to the complaints and suggestions. When we complain or make suggestions, it is not to play petty politics, but to ensure that, at the end of the process, we have legislation that makes sense and meets the needs of small businesses. It should be noted that this bill affects small and medium-sized businesses.
Let us move away from the duopoly for a moment. I like the expression the minister of state used. This is a great idea for a new Parker Brothers game, but this game will not necessarily be fun for small and medium-sized businesses. It verges on what I would call forced negotiations. It is hard to negotiate when you have a sword hanging over your head.
Considering that rail service is the driving force of our economy, there is a serious problem here. As parliamentarians, we must try to solve this problem regarding the balance of power. Indeed, this will serve small and medium-sized businesses, but at the end of the day, who will it really benefit? It will benefit our constituents, all Canadians who need these products and services, who need them to get to the right place safely and quickly.
Speeding up the process will save money. So we have a big job ahead of us. Yes, we are always looking for ways to speed things up.
As the House Leader of the Official Opposition pointed out—and as justice critic I see this quite often—it is all well and good to show up with non-partisan proposals guided by the common good and respect for legislation and charters, but we always seem to hit a brick wall. The government does not even bother to find out whether the proposals have merit, which is seriously undemocratic.
For some members of the House, these are extremely important issues because they affect their constituents who have small and medium-sized businesses and who use rail services. These people have a few things to say about this issue. If we listen carefully we will see that they may have something worthwhile and important to say, which can benefit the debate. It does not help to always be so paranoid and think that people only ever speak to take down their opponent. On the contrary, sometimes they speak to enlighten the debate and improve the situation.
As the House Leader of the Official Opposition so eloquently explained before me, the NDP plans on supporting the bill at second reading so that it can be sent to committee. I truly hope that the government will pay close attention and that enough expert witnesses will be invited to guide parliamentarians from all parties, so that they can draft a report on the committee's deliberations. Then, when we return to the House, the official opposition will be reasonably satisfied that this was taken seriously, that we were listened to and that the people who have a vested interest in this bill were heard. If that is the case, we will have the best bill possible to help the rail service, an industry that is fundamental to this great, beautiful country we call Canada.