Stan Keyes

[Supply, February 13th, 1997]

Do you want to hear it or do you want to keep yelling?

That company is doing a wonderful job of providing a tourism service. It provides the customer the opportunity to get on a train, travel through part of the Rockies, stay overnight in a community, have a meal and entertainment and get back on the train in the morning and continue on their way to the next location. It is a magnificent tourism service, a first class service.

VIA wants to run a train from one part of B.C. to another during the daylight hours, providing transportation to a group of people who live in B.C. who number in the thousands that are saying: "We

do not have enough room on this particular train. We need more room on another train to get from A to B.

[Supply, February 13th, 1997]

I know the hon. member opposite is very interested in the VIA question. Unfortunately, as is usually the case with the opposition, it is only telling half the story.

Let us look at the full story. A private sector company called the Great Canadian Railtour Company is doing a fantastic job, a wonderful job of providing-

[Supply, February 13th, 1997]

The member asked if I own a house. Did I ever sell a house or make a contract? Yes, I have bought a house but I have had the opportunity of knowing exactly what I am buying. Unfortunately, the Conservative government of the day sold a bill of goods in the dying hours of a campaign. It knew it was on its way out. The Canadian taxpayers recognized the deal was a sham, hatched by the Conservatives, and it was not going to be the right deal for the Canadian taxpayer.

However, the government is still on the record as saying it will leave every option open to reach a settlement that is satisfactory to the Canadian taxpayer, satisfactory to the plaintiffs in this matter, completely satisfactory. It means a payment, interestingly enough, with which the consortium is not happy.

The consortium is not happy with what it received back in payments to the tune of approximately $60 million. They are going all the way on this thing because they have bills to pay for their Conservative lobbyist friends; $600 million as opposed to $30 million or $40 million. Imagine.

There is a member of the House who represents constituents in a riding in British Columbia who is saying: "I agree with those fellows. Let us give them $600 million because, gosh, we had a contract". Let us talk about who is to be protected here. The Canadian taxpayers that we represent need the protection. The Canadian taxpayers have recognized this deal as a sham. This government is standing on its own two feet and making sure that the taxpayer is protected. It is ensuring that the right of the Canadian taxpayer is given paramount consideration in this matter.

[Supply, February 13th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I will directly answer the member's questions. All the the member's hyperbole notwithstanding, there is a right to be protected here, the right of the Canadian taxpayer in regard to the Pearson airport deal.

[Supply, February 13th, 1997]

Only $170 million because prior to that, my friend in the party opposite, it was well over $300 million and we have cut the subsidy. To its credit VIA Rail has not cut services in the process.

In conclusion, I have addressed all the principal concerns set out in what I call this laughable motion, but by no means have I exhausted the list of accomplishments our government has achieved in the transport sector. There is the national marine policy for example. There is last November's transfer of the air navigation system to the not for profit corporation called Nav Canada, a move that also netted the taxpayers of the country $1.5 billion. I am proud to say that we are meeting our goal in this government.

For five years I sat on the opposition benches. For five years I sat on the transport committee of the House and I watched the Conservative government-the same Conservative government that had its current leader sitting at the cabinet table-shelve document after document and not pay attention to the needs of transportation, not modernize transportation, not bring forward all the essences that make Canada great, that pull us together, that make us competitive and create jobs in this country.

I am proud of this government's record and I am going to stick by it. I am prepared to entertain any questions the hon. member opposite might have.

[Supply, February 13th, 1997]

Point taken, Mr. Speaker.

As the hon. members across the floor well know, highways are mostly the exclusive jurisdiction of the provinces. The many funding agreements we have signed with the provinces and territories however are proof of our government's commitment to work with other levels of government to preserve and enhance Canada's national highway system.

On the subject of grain transportation which the hon. member brought forward but did not speak to, our government's efforts to ensure the provision of a well maintained road system in this country mirror our work to modernize the rail sector. This leads me to the subject of grain transportation.

The motion before us suggests that the federal government is responsible somehow for the inefficiencies in the grain transportation system. Nothing could be further from the truth. Since coming to office, our government has taken bold steps to modernize rail transportation, the principal means by which grain is shipped in this country.

The Canada Transportation Act for example has given Canadian railways the flexibility to compete by reducing costs and those excessive regulations. The new act has cut the number of railway actions or decisions requiring government approval to about 40 from a previous high of 200. Cutting excess regulation will benefit not only the railways but also its customers, which include the grain shippers, through lower rail costs. The new act also shifts the focus from rail line abandonment toward the development of a healthy shortline industry.

Canadian National is now a private company with the tools it needs to compete. Putting CN into the private sector was an important step in our government's plan for modernizing the rail transportation system. The privatization has placed CN and CP rail systems on a level playing field. It has also subjected CN to the disciplines of the marketplace.

Not only will this move ensure the survival of the railway, but the gross proceeds from the sale of the crown's 80 million shares returned to the Canadian taxpayer in the amount of $2 billion. The enthusiastic response to the share offering by investors through Canada, the U.S. and internationally was outstanding. In fact it demonstrates CN's position as a strong player in the North American rail industry.

Finally, let us talk about the issue of transportation subsidies. As even a casual observer will notice, our government has dramatically cut subsidies in the transport sector. We have done so because we believe that those who use the transportation services should pay a greater share of the cost of providing those services.

VIA Rail for example will see its annual subsidy reduced to $170 million for the fiscal year 1997-98.

[Supply, February 13th, 1997]

It was not just the Toronto Star but many other media outlets which displayed the same outrage on behalf of the people who read their newspapers, who just so happen to live in my riding and in the riding of the hon. member for Kootenay West-Revelstoke.

The views of the taxpayers are seen on the editorial pages. Maybe the hon. member does not go beyond the editorials written by the paper and read the editorials with constituents' names attached to them. Some of them are outraged. Many have written to say they did not like the deal, that it was a deal which was hatched in the dying days of a Conservative administration that was on its way out because it had the worst eight year record of fraud that was ever established in Canadian history. On how many occasions did we watch, as I did, ministers on the Conservative front bench stepping down because of their improprieties?

The media outlets are there. They are doing their job. In order to represent the Canadian taxpayer, they are the people who are watching out. It is quite so these days that this House of Commons does not have an opposition. The opposition is the news media in this country and I say thank God for that.

The government's transportation policies, the very policies that the hon. member for Kootenay West-Revelstoke would have this House condemn, are helping to boost Canada's trade competitive-

ness. They are strengthening tourism. Best of all, they are creating jobs in Canada. That is because the transport minister and this government have a clear vision for the future of transportation in this country.

Over many years governments in Canada invested in, operated, owned, regulated and controlled our transportation systems. This led to an overbuilt, oversubsidized, overregulated environment. Today however a far reaching modernization is under way.

I believe it was the Minister of Finance who first pointed out to this House in one of his first budgets that the government ought to get out of the business of running business. That is part of the modernization process I am speaking to. Our government is working toward a more efficient, commercially driven, regionally responsive infrastructure that is less dependent on public subsidies. We are working toward transportation that a new economy can ride on.

For proof of that work we need look no further than the first subject of today's motion, Pearson airport. Our government transferred control of Pearson airport to the Greater Toronto Airport Authority last December. That is what the people wanted in this country. This transfer cleared the way for the GTAA to redevelop Pearson to its fullest potential and to market the airport as one of North America's leading international gateways.

The federal government ran Pearson airport for many years and it ran it well, but the federal government had neither the freedom nor the mandate to pursue the full commercial potential of the airport. However the GTAA has done both. It is free to aggressively market Pearson airport, to pursue new business opportunities, to use innovative financing for capital works.

The commercial orientation will ensure that Pearson, Canada's largest and busiest airport, remains responsive to the needs of the travelling public, shippers, carriers and the surrounding community. Already the Greater Toronto Airport Authority has announced a major redevelopment plan for the airport that will see terminals 1 and 2 eventually replaced by a modern, unified terminal building. The redevelopment plan represents an investment of $2 billion in the airport; that is $2 billion, with a b . That is in addition to the $250 million worth of projects already under way at Pearson, including the construction of a new north-south runway and a centralized aircraft de-icing system.

I emphasize that our government transferred control of the whole Pearson airport, not simply terminals 1 and 2. That will allow the airport authority to develop and put in place a vision for the airport as one single strong entity.

In accordance with our government's national airports policy, the GTAA must also abide by strict principles of public accountability. It must ensure that the concerns of airport users, the people who pay the bills, the local community and the taxpayer are not superseded by those of private interests, the friends of my hon. friend from Kootenay West-Revelstoke.

The authority's board of directors must be composed of representatives from the community, the various levels of government and other participating organizations such as boards of trade and labour organizations. That is what our government's national airport policy is all about: ensuring that Canada's airports reach their full potential, that they generate growth, create jobs, all the while working in the best interests of the community and the country.

The national airports policy is just one of our government's achievements in the air sector. We have been working hard to modernize Canadian air transportation. We have introduced a new international air transportation policy designed to better meet the needs of travellers, shippers and airport communities.

Also of significant impact to Canadian travellers was the signing of the landmark open skies agreement with the United States back in February 1995. Thanks to open skies, Pearson airport is enjoying a significant number of new direct flights to the United States.

On the issue of highways, just as improved air transportation leads to increased trade, tourism and jobs, so too does a safe, well maintained national highway system. That is why our government will be spending $292 million on cost shared highway development projects in this fiscal year alone. This is in addition to the approximately $100 million we spend each year on federally owned highways and bridges across the country. That is a total of $392 million, an amount that we just moments ago heard the Reform Party allege was a meagre amount.

To quote the Reform Party member: "The government is spending a mere $392 million on highways", a mere. That is close to half a billion dollars. Only a Reform Party member could call an almost half a billion dollar investment in highways a mere amount.

That is also why our government will be studying very carefully in the days ahead the recently tabled report from the Standing Committee on Transport which deals with the very issue of highway funding. It was when the report came together, when we returned to this House after the break, that we worked diligently day after day, hour after hour without the member for Kootenay West-Revelstoke who speaks so eloquently that we have a schedule here and a schedule there. Well, the schedule started two weeks ago and the member only returned to the House after our serious deliberations and meetings-

[Supply, February 13th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I want to respond to the remarks made by the hon. member and the Reform motion before the House which condemns the government for its approach to federal transportation policies.

First, I would like to address the concluding remarks of the member opposite. He said that his constituents are somehow different than the constituents of the Toronto Star . I have spent some 16 years in television news-

[Supply, February 13th, 1997]

Yes, Liberals, because Claridge wanted to make the airport work properly. However, I have to ask the hon. member:

Who is he standing up for? Is he standing up for the consortium that wants $600 million for itself, never having put a shovel in the ground, or is he standing up for the Canadian taxpayer who says: "Government, you do what you have to do. You take these people to court. You make sure that you try to achieve a goal that says we are not going to give another penny over what is deserving, somewhere between $30 million and $60 million, not $600 million as demanded, to pay for things that were not done for the lobbyists and for the friends of Brian Mulroney?" Where does the hon. member stand for the Canadian taxpayer?

[Supply, February 13th, 1997]

Unfortunately the hon. member opposite would sooner spend his time, as he said he did, back in his riding holding what he called politically oriented meetings, et cetera, rather than doing the job that his constituents sent him here to Ottawa to do.

We were working very hard on a triple T study, as we call it, a trade, transportation and tourism study. We heard a bevy of witnesses on the subject.

To the credit of the chairman of that committee, he pulled together 22 players, who either came to the committee at one time or made written interventions to the committee, to sit at one table. It worked wonderfully. Unfortunately, the hon. member missed it. Not one member of the Reform Party was present. However, the government and the official opposition were there.

Twenty-two people were sitting around the table. Instead of the usual way a committee works, hearing witness after another, unconnected, and only hearing one side of the story, we had all these witnesses sitting around the table discussing the idea of finding new options, exploring new ways of helping to finance a national highways project. One person would say something and another person would argue sensibly, quietly and diligently why we may not be able to do something.

It was the most fruitful meeting I have been at in the nine years I have been sitting on committees. There was interaction at the table between the private sector, the public sector and members of Parliament who represent their constituencies. At the end of the day, there was a consensus among all the players. Even more important than pulling in witnesses and trying to come to some consensus as individual witnesses, it was a table that came together as a consensus. It was marvellous.

The consensus was to move toward a model. We would take an example of a structured road somewhere in Canada and apply the strategic thinking that went on at that committee to the model to see how to crunch the numbers, to see the options of payment, and to see where the government and the Canadian taxpayers would be taking a lower risk on a particular venture. These are the great ideas that came out of that meeting. Unfortunately, the member opposite was not at it.

On the subject of the Pearson airport deal, I have to ask myself about the hon. member of the Reform Party. Let us remind ourselves that he belongs to a party that prides itself on being the party of constituent consensus. Let us look at constituent consensus. What did constituency consensus state? In the Toronto Star , for example, on December 4, 1993, it stated: ``Prime Minister's Chrétien's decision to cancel the privatization deal of Pearson International Airport is a breath of fresh air that cleans the stench left behind by the shady deal worked out by the Tory lobbyists for friends of the previous government''.

"Friends of the previous government". After hearing the intervention of the Reform Party member opposite, I have to think that he could not be a friend of the taxpayers. He is a friend of these lobbyists, of the company run by a guy by the name of Don Matthews, a gentleman who was a chief Tory fundraiser and past president of the Conservative Party. He came forward with this deal. There is not even an option or opportunity for the not for profit corporation, the GTAA, Greater Toronto Airport Authority, to get into the bidding process. It was not allowed to bid on the project and the deal went to Paxport.

At the end of the day Paxport, the company that won the deal, did not have the resources to follow through with what it wanted to do. What did it have to do? It had to reach out and pull in someone in order to meet the deal that it had promised the Conservatives. Therefore, it reached out to the owners of terminal 3, Claridge.