Mr. Speaker, on October 17, I asked the government a question about the fact that blueprints of the Montreal airport terminal had been found in a recycling bin. I talked to Aéroports de Montréal (ADM) about this, and I was told that there was no security protocol for the airport's blueprints.
The government says that it is a proponent of security and that it has invested in airport security. However, blueprints of a secure area, where photos cannot even be taken, were found in a recycling bin. ADM's obvious lack of security with respect to blueprints of its premises is also indicative of a more fundamental problem.
Aéroports de Montréal, a non-profit organization, does not have to account to virtually anyone. The people who manage this organization, which is vital to our economy, are exempt from any serious and transparent independent audit.
The Auditor General of Canada cannot even conduct a financial or environmental audit of ADM's books. With respect to aircraft noise, ADM is both judge and jury. In terms of public health and the environment, ADM does not even obey Quebec laws because it is a federal entity. Worst of all, the federal government cannot even conduct its own audits of ADM.
Having control over ports and airports is of strategic importance to a nation. But the public and elected officials are being duped. Management of the ADM reminds me of the kind of governance we saw in the 19th century, before the Patriotes Rebellion in Upper Canada and Lower Canada. At the time, parliamentarians and the public were calling for government accountability. The English governor had control over public goods and services for his friends, and ignored the people most directly concerned, the public and elected officials.
We can understand the government giving up its responsibilities, but it must let the Government of Quebec have authority over its ports and airports and put an end to the lack of transparency and gross incompetence on the part of the ADM.