Mr.Chair, Canadians are finding out that crude oil shipped by rail in Canada has increased 32,000% since 2009. The Conservative government has known for eight years. I am absolutely certain that in the transition documents that were prepared for the minister's predecessor, the government was forewarned about this massive increase in the transportation of dangerous goods by rail. The present minister knows, and so does the Prime Minister, that in the next 10 years if every pipeline as proposed for our country is built and in full usage, there will be a million barrels per day of excess oil production in Canada. How is it going to be transported? It is going to be transported by rail.
Instead of taking the Auditor General's report, thanking him for his good work and sending him on his way, could the minister explain why there is no sense of urgency in the wake of the Lac-Mégantic tragedy? In the face of this massive increase in the transportation of dangerous goods, diluted bitumen by rail, why has there been no significant increase in expenditures for rail safety? We know from the public accounts of 2012-13, VIA Rail was cut 15%, aviation safety was cut 11%, marine safety was cut 25%, road safety was cut 5.5% and rail safety remained relatively constant.
I would remind Canadians before the minister responds that the government spends more money on economic action plans, obscene, self-promoting economic action plan advertisements, than it does on rail safety.