Debates of Dec. 9th, 2019

Supplementary Estimates (A), 2019-20

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

Mr. Chair, we will do our own work and if we have to put in different procedures or training we will do so, but we are working with other regulatory bodies such as the FAA and EASA, which is the European equivalent, and also the Brazilian regulator.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Mr. Chair, where are the funds allocated for this recertification?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

Mr. Chair, through regular A-base spending.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Mr. Chair, the disaster, which killed 157 people on board including 18 Canadians, was the second Max crash in less than five months. UK, EU, Australia, India, South Korea and Mongolia all grounded that aircraft prior to Canada. Why?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

Mr. Chair, my colleague will have to ask them.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Mr. Chair, what kind of an answer is that? That is the Minister of Transport, who is responsible for grounding that aircraft here in Canada and the safety of Canadians. There was an outcry at that time.

I will ask again, why did it take the minister so long to ground that aircraft?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

Mr. Chair, that is a clearer question. We made our decision based on satellite evidence that indicated the performance of that aircraft resembled that of the Lion Air crash that occurred five months before. I cannot speak for why other countries made their decision and whether they based on them on any evidence.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Mr. Chair, the fact remains that the minister took more time than other carriers to ground that aircraft, potentially putting Canadians further at risk.

The train derailment in Saskatchewan last night emphasizes the need to do more. How much has his government put aside for crossing safety?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

Mr. Chair, as I have been fond of saying, rail safety is my number one priority and now that I am in a new mandate, I am glad to say again that rail safety will continue to be my number one priority.

We are currently looking at the derailment that occurred in Lanigan, Saskatchewan. It is too early at this point to say what has happened. If my hon. colleague wants a list of the things that we have done since the 2013 Lac-Mégantic rail tragedy, I would be happy to provide it to him.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Mr. Chair, we know, through the supplementary estimates (A), that the minister has put aside $165 million for green vehicles. How much has he put aside for rail safety?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

Mr. Chair, we are continuously improving rail safety in this country. In the supplementaries, which is what we are here to discuss, we mentioned $10.1 million for the railway safety improvement program, RSIP, which is specifically focused on crossings and improving safety at those crossings.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Mr. Chair, the minister's department has remained firmly in study mode regarding rail safety. When can we expect the minister and his department to take firm action?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

Mr. Chair, if I have the opportunity to speak at length, I can begin to tell my colleague what we have done in terms of improving safety in this country. I will start by saying we have new standards with respect to the safety of tanker cars. We have implemented key routes limitations for those transporting dangerous goods. We have implemented the installation of locomotive video and voice recorders, LVVRs, inside.

I am presently looking at the issue of fatigue among engineers and conductors on our trains. We have also started other initiatives with respect to trying to improve rail safety. We have increased the number of inspectors who inspect the 41,000 kilometres of rail lines that operate in this country. I can provide an exhaustive list to my colleague who just said we have been asleep at the switch.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Mr. Chair, will the minister table those documents with the House?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

Mr. Chair, those documents are actually available online. I was just going to do him a favour by printing them and giving them to him.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Mr. Chair, if the minister is willing to do that, we will take him up on his offer.

Some railways in Europe and the U.S. have train controls that sound an alarm or even stop the train if the crew is not paying attention. However, similar technology has not been implemented under the minister's watch. Why?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

Mr. Chair, I am glad to tell my colleague that we are looking very seriously at what is called “enhanced train control”. We think this is the new way to use technology to make train operations safer, and we are working with both the class I main railways, CN and CP, to try to develop the technologies that will be used in the future to ensure greater levels of safety.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Mr. Chair, one of the biggest concerns for the railway crews who were on strike just recently was railway safety and their own safety. The TSB has directed 16 rail safety advisories and information letters to the minister resulting from employee concerns about fatigue, and he has not responded once. Why?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

I responded, Mr. Chair.

Of course we did a big initiative with respect to pilots and pilot fatigue, which came into force last year. I said at the time that I would turn my attention toward rail operators. I am talking about those he is talking about, as well as the marine industry, because fatigue is recognized as a contributing factor to some of the accidents. The TSB has been quite rightly pointing this out to us, and we are acting on it. We have begun acting on it now for close to a year.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Mr. Chair, the tenth railway worker fatality in less than 24 months took place in my province of British Columbia just last week. What is the minister doing to rectify this issue?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

Mr. Chair, my heart goes out to that tenth CP worker who lost his life in a rail yard. We are currently investigating what the cause was. When we determine what the cause of that was, if there is action to be taken, we will take that action.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Mr. Chair, with regard to runway incursions, Nav Canada recorded an average of 445 runway incursions each year from 2013 to 2017. There were 21 high-severity events in each of the past two years, any of which could have led to a loss of life.

The minister is spending $165 million on green vehicles. Why does the government not care about airline safety?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

Mr. Chair, the government does care about airline safety. In fact, Canada has one of the best safety records in the world. However, there is always more that we can do, including on runway incursions and other issues, such as runway and safety areas. We are working on all of these to try to increase safety in the airline business even more.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Mr. Chair, if the minister's government does not step up, it is only a matter of time before a catastrophic accident occurs. What are the Liberals doing to implement a more aggressive hazard identification regime?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

Mr. Chair, I ask my colleague to define to me what he means by “hazard identification regime”.