Mr. Speaker, if in this place we could make excuses by looking at past governments, every single government could do that. The Liberals have been in power for two years. They raised expectations to a certain level and now they are not meeting them. With the “trick or treat” budget, the “trick or treat” bill, it keeps happening. One thing is promised and another thing is delivered. The bill has been called by editorialists from the Globe “a strange beast”, kind of like a Demogorgon from Stranger Things.
The bill also contains no provisions about the enforcement of the rights of travellers. The minister called this a regulatory introduction of these passenger rights. I would call it differently. It is more of a punitive approach. Instead of increasing competition and providing for more opportunities for customers of different airlines to choose a different one if they do not get the service they want, the government's solution is more fines and punishment for the air carriers.
Why would we shut down debate now, where there is an opportunity for members of Parliament to deliver further criticism and potential improvements to the bill? If the minister says the committee did such great work, why is he not willing to listen to more members of Parliament as we debate and criticize the bill to offer more solutions?