Madam Speaker, unfortunately, my headphones are not working so I will not use them. I will carry on anyway. First, I would like to say that I am pleased to be here in the House, even virtually. I am also pleased to respond to the throne speech, even if it is virtually. I am pleased to be responsible for the transport portfolio as the official opposition's transport critic. It is a portfolio that has an incredible history here in Canada.
In fact, the Hon. James Moore told me that transport was the only portfolio in the Canadian Constitution, so it really is something special.
It is in the Constitution because the railroad is in the Constitution, so transport is just an incredible part of Canadian history.
I will add that what is incredible is the number of individuals who have held this portfolio both as the minister as well as the critic.
That includes the Hon. John Baird, the Hon. Lisa Raitt, the Hon. James Moore and the Hon. Don Mazankowski. As a woman from western Canada, it is very special to share a portfolio with the Hon. Don Mazankowski.
When Canadians think of transport they have beautiful visions, I know I do, of grain rolling across the Prairies in railcars, as well as my favourite commodity, which is oil. That really is a beautiful picture for Canadians to have.
I remember a trip that I made to the United States.
While I was there I saw a CP or a CN railcar.
All of a sudden, it was like I was at home in Canada when I saw that.
I remember, as a young girl, lying in my bed at night, falling asleep in my house in Lake Bonavista, with the rails just a kilometre away from my home, and listening to the sound of the trains going across the tracks and the sound of the horn. Everyone can see that transport has an incredible history here in Canada, as well as for me personally.
Transport is unity.
Transport is the actual physical network that ties Canadians together all across this incredible country of ours. Transport brings people together. There is not a single Canadian who cannot think of the joy of going to the airport and seeing a friend or relative that he or she has not seen in a long time. Transport allows people to put food on their tables because of all the commodities that are carried all across this great nation.
That is why I was so disappointed with yesterday's throne speech.
It was very disappointing that yesterday's speech was not about unity.
There was nothing in it about unity, nothing at all.
Unfortunately, it has never been about unity with the Liberal government, because for five long years now we have seen region pitted against region.
We have seen province pitted against province and sector pitted against sector.
Unfortunately as well, we have seen scandal after scandal, a refusal to recognize the crisis of the pandemic that was on the horizon. The official opposition tried so hard to bring this to the attention of the government, to show it the doom that was ahead for Canadians, for our well-being and for our economy, but it refused to listen. Now we see the incompetence of the government to get us out of this slump, to get us on the path to economic recovery, to take us to a better place. In the words of the leader of the official opposition, Canada has never been more divided.
In the transport file, I see tens of thousands of people without work. People contact me who are desperate. People from the airline sector are barely hanging on as a result of the government's inability to develop a plan for safe skies or obtain the access to rapid testing that so many other nations around the globe have managed to obtain at this time. My own YYC airport authority has seen a loss of 20,000 jobs.
I hear from people all across the country. People write to me, such as Michael, who wrote, “I am an airline pilot and I've been laid off since March. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for standing up for our industry within Parliament.” I hear from people like Shanna in Manitoba, who wrote, “I don't need a reply, but I just wanted to let you know thank you for your letter to Parliament. It seems our present government is giving away the farm, so to speak, and forgets about transportation and how we are going to recover. But then again, what do I know? I'm just a furloughed flight attendant who is volunteering in schools to help make this transition as smooth as possible in my community.”
I hear from people like Philippe, who wrote me the following:
“I read your news release regarding the absence of a plan regarding airlines. You seem to be one of the rare persons who understands the plague of the aviation sector. The federal government is currently squandering away decades of work by thousands of talented people. If they don't want to throw money at the aviation sector, at least allow us the conditions to do our jobs.”
People are worried about food not making it to the table. Chad, from the transport industry, wrote, “Please help. Freight capacity is a real problem. The government is even facing it with personal protective equipment. The government needs a plan to help transition supply chains to the new reality.”
I hear from people who are so tired of the government choosing winners and losers and being on the losing end of that equation. I hear from energy workers in my riding, like John and Linda, who have lost not only their truck but now their home because of the government's abandonment of the west.
For six weeks Canadians went without Parliament, we went without committees, Canadians were without a voice. They were left void of a plan for economic recovery and no hope for families across the nation, which so desperately need hope at this time. This is not unity. Unity is not turning our back on an entire region of Canada. Unity is not leaving thousands of people without work, to lose their homes and their dignity. Unity is not omitting an entire sector from the Speech from the Throne, one that is so desperately needed in the restart of this economy. This is not unity at all.
Unity is the Rocky Mountaineer chugging through the majestic mountains. Unity is the first glimpse of Lake Ontario on VIA Rail from Ottawa to Toronto. Unity is Alex Colville's painting To Prince Edward Island. Unity is looking out over Vancouver port from Canada Place in British Columbia. Unity is the good people of Windsor West who I talked to last night. Unity is using the words such as oil, gas and pipelines in the Speech from the Throne.
How committed is my leader is to unity? He is so committed that he went to la belle province, the province of Quebec, and had a conversation with the premier to discuss solutions to unity. He left the front steps of his house. He had the courage to do that, forsaking his health and the health of his family. This is the courage and the leadership we need at this time.
I am so proud to stand behind and beside our leader to get our people and our goods moving again. The only way we are going to come out of the pandemic is together and together with unity.