Debates of Nov. 3rd, 2020

Post-Secondary Education

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The time is up.

The hon. parliamentary secretary.

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

Madam Speaker, I apologize to you, the members in the House, anybody listening and the interpretation team for the oversight with regard to my headset. One would think that after 10 months, I would be used to it.

I want to thank the member for Edmonton Strathcona for her advocacy and for the good questions. Certainly no good ideas are off the table. We do need to find ways to continue to support students throughout the remainder of this pandemic. The uncertainty that many young Canadians feel in these unprecedented times can be truly overwhelming. I talk to the students in my riding as well.

That is why the Government of Canada has also made changes to the Canada student loan program to help students during the COVID-19 pandemic. A six-month interest-free moratorium on the repayment of student loans provided relief to nearly one million borrowers. The Government of Canada will continue to ease eligibility requirements for Canada student loans and Canada student grants to allow more post-secondary students to qualify and be eligible for greater amounts.

I can be counted on to listen and to hear more good ideas. The Government of Canada will continue to be steadfast in its commitment to support youth from coast to coast to coast.

Aviation Industry

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Madam Speaker, I will never forget Friday, March 13. That was the day that I came home from Ottawa, went into my home and things changed forever, certainly until now. That was eight months ago and that is how long the aviation sector has been waiting for a plan from the government.

Let me go over a timeline. On March 18, the international borders closed. On March 21, Porter Airlines suspended operations. On March 23, Sunwing Airlines suspended operations. As well, Air Transat temporarily laid off 70% of its staff. On April 1, Air Transat concluded repatriation operations. On April 18, Air Transat suspended flights. On April 20, Air Canada concluded repatriation operations. At the end of April, there is still no plan.

On June 30, Air Canada announced it is discontinuing services to 30 regional routes and closed eight stations. There is still no plan. On July 17, WestJet concluded its repatriation operations. On July 24, WestJet laid off 3,333 employees. There is still no plan. On August 14, the Government of Canada finally introduced a flight plan, but just a plan with health and safety measures, no sector support and certainly nothing regarding rapid testing or safe corridors.

On September 1, Nav Canada increased its fees by 29.5%. On September 3, Air Canada announced a COVID-19 testing pilot project at Pearson Airport, done by the private sector and not by the government. Why? Because there was no plan.

On October 1, Air Canada ordered approved rapid tests and the Vancouver airport announced a COVID-19 rapid testing pilot project, again by the private sector and not the government. On October 14, WestJet suspended routes to Atlantic Canada. Why? Because there was no plan. On November 2, the Calgary airport quarantine and testing project began.

This has not been without devastating effects to our economy. As a result of this inaction, we are expected to lose 1.2% to 1.7% of Canada's GDP. The U.S. had a plan and what is the result of that? It has the capacity of U.S. carriers at 50%, while Canada, where there has not been a plan, is only at 25%. As well, Canadian carriers have lost 14% capacity share of transatlantic services compared to a year ago. Finally, leakage to the U.S. market and U.S. carriers is expected to continue to grow as Canadians go to the U.S. for cheaper flights, as a result of the government not having a plan.

I receive lots of correspondence from airline sector employees. They are difficult to read and they are difficult to hear, but I am going to share one of them today.

It says, “Dear Honourable Member, I just want to give a heartfelt thank you for your words in Parliament about our aviation sector. I am a pilot who is furloughed with Air Canada. I was furloughed the day my beautiful baby daughter was born. That day turned our lives upside-down, not because of our beautiful baby girl but losing my job, trying to figure things out. This is not an easy task as new parents and trying to find a new career. This has been an utter nightmare with no help. We have been left out to dry by this current government. Once again, I can't thank you enough.”

These families and this sector deserve a plan. Where is the plan?

[Chris Bittle, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport]

Madam Speaker, it is interesting that the member points to the United States as the model for transportation: A country that is the global epicentre of the virus with an uncontrolled spread.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the Government of Canada, public health officials, health authorities and the Canadian air industry, including operators, airports and labour groups, have worked collaboratively to implement measures that reduce the spread of the virus.

In August, Transport Canada released Canada's flight plan for navigating COVID-19, demonstrating to the Canadian public the extensive measures the aviation industry and the Government of Canada had implemented in response to the pandemic. In support of the flight plan, we are working to identify additional priority measures, such as safe contactless processing of passengers and testing procedures to enable the safe restart of the aviation sector, as well as establishing a framework for COVID-19 testing of air travellers.

Transport Canada is also working closely with other federal partners to explore risk-based opportunities that will allow Canada to reopen its borders. This includes implementing a sustainable approach to reducing public health risks today, and building resilience to safeguard the system against similar risks in the future. These approaches will help rebuild public confidence in the safety of our air travel.

Preventing the spread of the pandemic has been and remains the government's top priority. The various regulatory requirements that were put in place will likely remain for the foreseeable future. However, there is room for adjustment to better support the restart of the air sector. Transport Canada will be actively assessing orders that have been issued to see what can be done, and will be consulting with industry on possible amendments.

We recognize that the virus and public health measures have resulted in a dramatic reduction in passengers and a significant financial input packed on operators throughout the air sector. This means that revenues are greatly reduced and the sector cannot operate in the same manner as it did prior to the pandemic. Operators have done a lot to manage their costs, with over 50% layoffs across the industry, as well as other reduced operating and capital costs. Appreciating the situation faced by operators, we continue to engage with stakeholders to fully understand the challenges and assess their solutions.

The government has already taken some important steps. In March, we waived rent for airport authorities that have ground leases with the federal government, thus removing some costs from the system. We have provided funding to ensure air service to remote communities with the $17.3 million in April for the territories alone, and up to an additional $174 million in August.

The government has also launched several broad economic measures the air industry has been able to benefit from, most notably the Canadian emergency wage subsidy, which has been widely utilized by the air sector to the benefit of both employers and employees. To date, this has provided over $1 billion in relief to the industry.

The government will continue its important engagement with stakeholders and partners as we work to address challenges faced by the air sector in Canada today and to ensure we have a strong industry into the future.

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Madam Speaker, I would like the parliamentary secretary to also listen to this correspondence after that bureaucratic drivel. It states, “Honourable member, I have been following you for a while on social media and I really want to thank you on behalf of our pilots. We are going through some incredibly difficult times and your voice is a light at the end of a very long tunnel. Please keep on doing your work. Everyone is very appreciative, and if you need support at any point, please let us know. When this whole pandemic started, I was doing my captain training while rescuing Canadians in Europe and in the south. Now, if I can fly again as a first officer I would be happy. When this pandemic started, we didn't know what we were fighting against, but all the staff was very courageous and with no information about the virus we went to fly in already-infected countries to bring Canadians home and now we feel abandoned by the government. We thought by the end of the spring there would be something to help us. Rapid testing: Is there a plan? Is there a discussion?”

The government had the opportunity to do something amazing, to save a sector. What did it do? Nothing. Where is the plan?

[Chris Bittle, Liberal, St. Catharines, ON]

Madam Speaker, again it is interesting the hon. member points to the United States as the best plan and best way to address this public health emergency.

I would like to point her to a tweet from the hon. member for Carleton, who is her party's finance critic. It states, “Easy rule: if a business venture needs a government handout it's a money loser.” It is truly unfortunate that the Conservative Party would have that type of policy from its finance critic. We are hearing something a little different today from the transportation critic.

This government has a commitment across the Canadian economy, which includes the air sector. We have seen it through the wage subsidy, we have seen it through relief and, as we have seen in the throne speech, there is a signal that we are willing to do more. We are open to doing more and are looking forward to seeing that plan for the sector.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The motion to adjourn the House is now deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly, the House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 2 p.m., pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 6:46 p.m.)