Val Meredith

[Air Canada Public Participation Act, November 19th, 2001]

Madam Speaker, I find it interesting that I would agree with my colleague from Churchill when she said that one of the things which is lacking is any kind of vision from the Liberal government as to where transportation and certainly airline restructuring should be going. I must say I do disagree heartily with where she would want the Liberal government to go.

The issue is why the Liberals did not implement this policy 18 months ago when we were looking at airline restructuring under Bill C-26. In early 2000 the transport committee looked at restructuring the airline industry. Bill C-26 put in a provision to raise domestic ownership from 10% to 15%. I introduced an amendment to the bill at committee in March 2000, suggesting that the government completely get rid of any kind of limitation to domestic ownership. It is interesting that the Liberals who sat around that table, most of whom are here today, voted against that amendment, yet they will support the government's removing that same issue which my amendment dealt with when the government puts it on the floor for a vote.

The big question is what is the difference of doing it now as opposed to having done it 18 months ago? The big difference is that the timing of the Liberals is really off the mark. Eighteen months ago someone may have been interested in picking up a greater degree of ownership in Air Canada. Unfortunately, today there are not too many people around who are that excited about owning airlines. The market is not in a position where there is the same kind of interest that there was 18 months ago. The Liberals really missed the boat in that 18 months ago this would have had a much more meaningful impact on the airline industry than it will have now.

When the Liberals brought in this restriction originally it was to allow for wider distribution of shares so that not any one organization or any one person could control what used to be a national airline. Although it sounded good at the time, when we were looking at Bill C-26, we heard that in essence the restriction allowed the board of managers who owned at that time, and I understand it is not much different now, around 3% of the company's shares to make decisions that were not necessarily the best decisions for the airline.

It allowed that board of management to get into predatory practices or to make decisions to run out the competition. At that time the competition was Canadian Airlines. Today it would seem to be Canada 3000 and WestJet. It allowed the board of directors to have that kind of control over the directions the airline was taking.

Rather than determining that there was a place for Air Canada and making that place in the Canadian airline industry strong and effective, it seemed that the decisions were to get rid of the competition. Well, they succeeded. Canada 3000 is the latest victim to go under. Canadian Airlines of course was bought up by Air Canada over a year ago. A week and a half ago Canada 3000 literally ceased operations.

It is a question of, is that all the bill is going to do is allow new management? I would suggest it is a very ineffective way of dealing with that. That in itself is not going to have any meaningful impact. Once again a combination of things must happen.

The Liberal government refuses to deal with an issue which it had an opportunity to address before and has an opportunity to do so now and that is foreign ownership limits. The foreign ownership limits remain at 25%. If we were to ask the minister why that is so, he would say it is because that is the American limit. Raising the foreign ownership limit to 49% and getting rid of the domestic ownership restrictions would allow a greater pool of capital to be put into Air Canada and to help it restructure. The minister, and I would assume the government behind him, is refusing to even address the issue of raising the foreign ownership limit.

When we talk about foreign ownership limits the reason we talk about 49% is because the bilateral agreements that Canada has with other countries require that part of that bilateral agreement is that a Canadian air carrier has this agreement with another country. If we were to raise the foreign ownership component to more than 49% we would have a harder time convincing people that it was actually a Canadian air carrier.

Therefore 49% still allows Canada to have an air carrier that is a Canadian air carrier but with a greater opportunity for foreign ownership component.

I suggest that now is the time to allow Air Canada the flexibility of not only domestic ownership requirements being removed but upping that foreign ownership component.

When the committee studied the bill we were told that over 75% of the debt that is held by Air Canada is foreign owned. By not upping the foreign ownership we are also removing the ability of Air Canada to restructure its debt by transferring or converting it into equity.

If we were to up the foreign ownership we would allow that foreign debt to be converted into an equity in the airline and allow Air Canada an opportunity to look at a different way of restructuring and give it more flexibility.

I would not argue to any great degree with the NDP's attitude that Air Canada is the national carrier and is the flagship of Canada. We all accept that. However for the impression to be left that Air Canada can only function if the government takes equity and more control in the airline is a fallacy. History will show that governments do not do business well. Governments have a history of messing up some very good industries that could have operated on a profitable basis and made sure that customers were served but it was through government interference and government ownership that things were messed up, in some instances to a very large degree.

I would even go so far as to say that part of Air Canada's problem is that it was a government airline and the culture it has tends to be a government type bureaucratic culture. It is at a disadvantage when it has to work in a competitive marketplace with other air carriers. It is only when Air Canada learns how to do that, that it will survive in the international community.

I would suggest that the worst thing that could possibly happen would be for the government to get back into the ownership of Air Canada. I would think that by giving Air Canada more flexibility, which would certainly be a first step but by no means the last step, the government is allowing Air Canada a bit more flexibility in how it can restructure itself and compete in the international community.

When we start talking about government subsidization and governments throwing money into companies, I can give a couple of examples from my province of British Columbia but I will only give one. The NDP government put $380 million of taxpayer money into Skeena Cellulose Inc. to keep it operating and keep people working. All that does is defers reality. It defers the time when the company realizes that it cannot stay afloat because of bad management, where it needs to restructure and it needs to become more competitive.

Skeena Cellulose closed the doors once again. There goes 380 million taxpayer dollars that the government has no ability to collect from Skeena Cellulose.

Government subsidization or government getting back into the ownership is certainly not the way to go.

Yes, there is a role for government and that is very clear in the Canada Transportation Act. Government is there to make sure the safety of air transportation is there for consumers. It is there to make sure Air Canada does not run out all the competition. The competition bureau and the competition commissioner is there but unfortunately under the act they need more teeth. They need to have a greater ability to enforce the restrictions that are put on companies such as Air Canada when it holds a monopoly.

The issue is not whether or not we support the bill. We do support removing the limit on domestic ownership. However the bill should also have provided for an increase in foreign ownership which could be done by order in council of cabinet. I would strongly urge the Liberal government to consider doing that sooner than later. It should have learned by this example that it has to be bold and step out in a strong manner when the time is right. If it does not, it does not help to step out in a timid and weak fashion years later.

The government should be bold and increase foreign ownership along with removing the domestic ownership in Air Canada. It also should look at other opportunities to allow competition in Canadian airspace.

When it studied Bill C-26, the committee looked at things like a Canada only air carrier which could be foreign owned by British Airways or another airline. However it would operate solely in Canada so it would not need any kind of bilateral agreement. It would use Canadian crews, Canadian fuel, pay Canadian taxes and produce Canadian jobs. That is something the government should be considering.

We talked about other things when we looked at air restructuring and Bill C-26. It is appropriate to bring some of those issues back on the table. The Government of Canada should be looking at other things that could provide more competition in the airline industry and give better service to air travelling consumers. There is no reason that we cannot get into that debate and look at creative new ways of providing air service to Canadians.

What we need to do is convince, cajole and push the government into seeing the big picture on how the Government of Canada can fulfill its obligations to ensure safety and environmental issues are considered and to ensure labour and competition matters are considered without getting back into really serious ownership issues or conditional type issues.

I encourage the government to look to a much broader perspective and to be a little more creative. Hopefully we will see something in the near future that shows it is going in a direction that is for the good of all Canadians.

[Softwood Lumber, November 2nd, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, one year ago when we asked about the thousands of jobs that were at risk with the expiration of the softwood lumber deal, the Liberals said “Don't worry. We are working on it”. Some 30,000 British Columbians will likely lose their jobs because of the Liberals' work on the file.

Yesterday a coalition of Canada's leading companies and business associations said that thousands of jobs were at risk by the federal government's inaction on border security. The Liberals said “Don't worry. We are working on it”. How many Canadians have to lose their jobs before the Liberals worry about it?

[National Security, November 1st, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, 99% of the individuals and goods crossing the Canada-U.S. border pose no security risk to either country, but long line-ups have prevented expedited transit for these goods and people.

Will the government agree today to dedicate resources and infrastructure to expedite the movement of goods, people and services that do not pose any risk to either country?

[Air Canada Public Participation Act, October 31st, 2001]

Madam Speaker, if regional carriers and smaller carriers had the freedom to grow and expand their market then local businesses could expand and service areas that may not now be serviced.

I take one example of a small local airline that started up in Terrace, B.C., a very small community in northern B.C. with about 15,000 people. It has one or two Dash 8s and provides a two-way service twice a day from Vancouver to Terrace. Because it is local, it offers good service and it originates out of Terrace, it is now bringing in another plane to service the surrounding communities. However, if we allow a dominant carrier to come in, interrupt and interfere with that local airline's potential growth perspective and the travelling public's access to that airline, then it will not maintain its ability to remain in the business.

We need to free up and encourage Air Canada, as the dominant carrier, to concentrate on being the national carrier and to stop trying to drive out the WestJets, the CanJets and other airlines that can provide regional carriage and do it well and service the communities well. If we allow the dominant carrier to replace them, the time will come when they will remove the service as they have done now.

What we want to do is encourage the smaller airlines to fulfill that role in our society. They can do it and they can do it very well.

[Air Canada Public Participation Act, October 31st, 2001]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to be debating the second reading of Bill C-38. It is with a degree of astonishment that we find ourselves addressing the issue 18 months after the fact.

The issue of public ownership and domestic ownership in Air Canada did come up when we were reviewing the restructuring of the airline industry 18 months ago. One of the dissenting opinions of the Canadian Alliance Party and myself was that this limitation of 15% was not a good thing and should not be in the legislation. We said at that time, and I repeat it now, that the 15% limitation in ownership hindered Air Canada from dealing with the issues rather than helping it. The government was urged at that time to remove the controls on ownership to give Air Canada the ability to raise capital in order for it to be able to afford the debt it was taking on with the acquisition of Canadian Airlines.

At that time the government said, as the minister did today, that it was not necessary to remove the limitations, that it was all fine and well and Air Canada could move ahead without it. Today I heard the minister say the same thing about foreign ownership, that it is not important at this time to remove the limit or raise the limit from 25% to 49% because all is well and Air Canada, with this amendment to the legislation, would be able to garner the capital that is necessary.

I would suggest that now it is time for the government to look seriously at the issue of Air Canada, at its financial position, the issues and the problems it has to deal with, and the government should realize that now is not the time for government to put on restrictions. Air Canada has an enormous debt load. Airlines cost big dollars, not small dollars. Air Canada will require a large amount of money, not a small amount of money, in order to remain afloat.

I would suggest that today the government is showing the lack of foresight that it showed 18 months ago when it would not remove the government restrictions to ownership in a way that would have allowed Air Canada to reach the maximum possibilities of getting fresh capital into its company.

It is interesting to see that Air Canada is now in favour of these changes, that Air Canada is now willing to look at removing this 15% control of domestic ownership and raising the foreign ownership limits from 25% to 49%. It is interesting because 18 months to two years ago it was this restriction on domestic ownership that caused the other bidder, Onex, to remove itself from the merger of Canadian Airlines and Air Canada. It was this limitation on domestic ownership that forced the government to deal with the bid that Air Canada had put on the table. This control on domestic ownership allowed Air Canada, I would suggest, to perhaps make an unwise decision to fight the takeover bid that Onex had put on the table.

Having said that, let me say that the problems Air Canada is facing are not due to September 11. September 11 did not help, but certainly the problems did not originate with the horrific events of September 11. The problems that Air Canada is facing have been ongoing.

There was an article in The Economist of July 7, 2001, obviously before September 11, that outlined in great detail the problems in the airline industry, the problems with the downturns in the economy, the fact that air travel fell in the United States and Europe for the first time in decades in May, and the fact that on any given day, at that time, four million people around the world were taking to the air and that at any one moment in time a quarter of a million people were in flight. However, bad weather, congestion on the runways, hamstrung air traffic control, computer failure and the late arrival of incoming flights all turn air travel into a lottery.

It was quite apparent before September 11 that there were major problems in the airline industry. Air Canada is one of the larger players. I understand it is the 11th largest airline in the world but that just means that its problems are perhaps larger than some of the smaller airlines. Air Canada has been having difficulties, to say the least, in merging the two workforces and cultures of Canadian Airlines and Air Canada. It is because of these problems that it ended up in a dire situation that preceded September 11.

We cannot deny that the events of September 11 had an impact on the airlines but I suggest that the government's decision to remove the domestic controls on ownership is a sorry response to the issue Air Canada is facing. The government has shown a complete lack of vision as to where the airline industry should be going. Had it had some vision of how Canada could have a strong national airline with support from other airlines and that all those pieces could work together, perhaps a lot of this angst would have been sorted out before now. Unfortunately, the government has not shown that kind of vision. It had a knee-jerk reaction to emergency situations that arose at the time.

The government had a knee-jerk reaction when Canadian Airlines was going under. Now that Air Canada finds itself in financial difficulty, again it has a knee-jerk reaction. Canada 3000 found itself in financial difficulties and there was yet another knee-jerk reaction. I think Canadians would like to know that their government has given some thought to the future of the airline industry and how their expectations will be met. We have not seen that from the government.

I would argue that there is surely room for one national carrier in Canada. Surely there is enough business. I know in this room alone there are 301 people who end up flying somewhere. Surely there is enough business to support one national carrier, but it should not be at the exclusion of all regional carriers. We should not allow this one national carrier to put every other carrier out of business.

When Air Canada was given some support, as were other airlines, the federal government gave it $160 million to supplement or compensate it for its direct costs of September 11. What was Air Canada's response to that? It immediately started Tango. What is Tango? Tango is another lower cost airline that is in direct competition to Canada 3000. When the federal government guaranteed a loan of $75 million to Canada 3000, what did Canada 3000 do? It immediately lodged a complaint with the competition commissioner against Air Canada.

I would like to think and I think Canadians would like to think that there is a long term plan, that the government does not just give money to airlines to get into a fight with the other competing airlines. That seems to be what is happening. Even though Air Canada is financially vulnerable right now, it is planning to create another subsidiary airline to go into direct competition with WestJet.

Why is the government not encouraging through measures one strong national airline that has a role to play and encouraging regional airlines and low cost airlines which also have roles to play? Why would we encourage or allow a dominant air carrier to take out its competition?

Let me get back to Air Canada and the amendment to the Air Canada Public Participation Act which removes the controls on domestic ownership.

Air Canada's board of managers own less than 3% of the company's shares. They are very small shareholders. When we are talking about running a big corporation, being a small shareholder creates a problem because the decisions that are being made need to consider the shareholders' that the board represents. If the board of managers own a very small share of the corporate shares, perhaps the decisions being made are not being made in the best interests of the shareholders, looking at the bottom line.

My colleague from the NDP would probably say that it is time to stop worrying about the bottom line, that it is time for the government to support Air Canada and perhaps take over ownership again, but I do not think that is what Canadians want.

I think Canadians are looking for an airline that has the capacity to operate without government interference and one that has the capacity to restructure its debt and move it into equities. I think they want a company that can take advantage of opportunities and operate in the private sector without looking for taxpayers to bail it out. I think that is possible. If there were a larger group of shareholders with more say and who had higher investments in the company, perhaps decisions would be made in such a way that the company could move forward.

I was a little concerned when Air Canada's largest shareholder, la Caisse de dépôt et placement, made a huge profit by selling short on Air Canada's stock during the downturn and post-September 11 when share value was dropping like a rock. In other words, it was profiting by the decline in value of Air Canada.This company then wanted Canadian taxpayers to bail it out. How can anyone explain to taxpayers that the largest shareholder is making a profit on the devaluation of the stock and yet turn around and expect Canadian taxpayers to bail it out?

I think Canadians would like to see the federal government remove the restrictions on domestic ownership and raise foreign ownership restrictions from 25% to 49%. This would allow Air Canada to restructure in such a way that its debt would be put into equity. Perhaps the largest shareholders, maybe la Caisse de dépôt et placement, would buy more shares and show their interest in making this company work. Perhaps some foreign investment could be brought in to get new capital to make it work. This is not a question of losing control. If ownership remains under 50% then the ownership is still Canadian. This would allow Air Canada to get the necessary influx of capital to function in the real world without constantly going to Canadian taxpayers for subsidies. I think it is possible for Air Canada to compete given a fresh approach and new capital.

We in the Canadian Alliance will be supporting the legislation. It is 18 months overdue which just shows that the government is, as always, slow in doing the right thing.

[Export Development Act, October 30th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, it does not surprise me that the Liberal member across the way does not understand the logic that sometimes government does not belong in the marketplace competing with the private sector. Perhaps this is just one more case where the government should be handing it over completely to the private sector to finance corporations for external trade. If it is such a good investment, the private sector should be more than willing to make that investment. It does not need the government to be doing it.

[Export Development Act, October 30th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, it is quite interesting that the member had to run out and get some information on it. He has been sitting as a member of parliament for the last however many years and he was not aware of what the EDC is. It is not transparent. It is not open.

If EDC is as successful as the hon. member is saying it is and makes so much money, why is it not in direct competition with the banks? Why is the private sector not doing the job that this government crown corporation is interfering with? The government has stepped out of line once more I would suggest.

The member thinks the Canadian taxpayers should be pleased that honourable people are being appointed. I am not doubting that honourable people are being appointed; I am saying there is a direct correlation with the government of the day, the Prime Minister and the Minister for International Trade by appointing this board. That is not transparent. I would suggest it is not what the Canadian taxpayers want to support.

Let the banks in Canada fund these agencies and companies if it is such a good investment. If they make so much money, let the banks make that money. Let private investors make that money.

I would suggest that if his information is correct, the hon. member has given a reason for the government to get out of the business completely.

[Export Development Act, October 30th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak to Bill C-31, the amendments to the Export Development Act. I think the concern Canadians have whenever we talk about agencies or organizations such as the Export Development Corporation is that once again we are talking about a crown corporation that operates supposedly for the people of Canada and yet lacks all accountability.

EDC has a reputation of being unaccountable, secretive and without transparency in its operations. It does not fall under the Access to Information Act which allows it to operate in such a way that it does not respect environmental concerns and issues. It has a reputation of being a crown corporation that operates out there on its own agenda.

I think Canadians are concerned that it has become a norm for agencies of the government to operate without parliamentary oversight. If people watch question period they will see that even when the opposition parties try to ask questions of the minister to bring some accountability to the crown corporation that the questions are not answered, not that any of them ever are, but questions pertaining to this particular crown corporation are never responded to in a way that shares information with Canadians as to what it is doing.

I think Canadians have real concerns that the government is continuing to operate in this manner and that it is the government's mode to develop organizations that it controls. It controls the people who run these organizations. It controls the information flow that goes into them and the lack of information that comes out about them. In essence, the government is removing any kind of connection between the people who pay for the crown corporation, which is the Canadian taxpayer, and the operation of it.

I think Canadians have become more aware of the involvement of the Export Development Corporation when issues like the Candu reactor come up and the fact that the Canada account, which I believe was used in that kind of venture, is often done in such a way that there seems to be a disregard for those regulations that are put in place, such as the environmental regulations. Canadians are somewhat concerned that Canada would be exporting Candu reactors without any kind of environmental assessments being done, without any real concern about the national security of our country where we would give foreign nations the capacity to perhaps use nuclear by-products for other means other than creating energy.

I think Canadians to a degree are aware of the existence of the Export Development Corporation but are not aware of the details of it, who sits on the board or to whom it answers. Canadians are a little concerned that here again is another crown corporation that is run in a manner that may not be acceptable to the Canadian public who pay for it.

We have to look at the bill and the amendments to see whether they address those concerns. I would suggest that the bill does not seem to address those concerns that Canadians have. I do not think that the means with which the bill deals with the accountability is sufficient. I think Canadians want to know that this crown corporation, which is using Canadian tax dollars to give to some corporations but not all corporations, is done in a fair and transparent manner. Some Canadian corporations might ask themselves why their competitor is getting this kind of support when they are not. Canadians need to feel comfortable that the people who are making the decision as to who will get government support, taxpayer money, are treating these decisions in a fair, open and above-board manner.

I think the fact that the chairman and president of the Export Development Corporation are appointed by the Prime Minister should cause some concern. The fact that the other 13 board members are appointed by the Minister for International Trade should cause Canadians some concern. The reason for this concern is that once again we see that the appointments to this board are political. They are being used to reward individuals who have been faithful supporters of the party with an opportunity to sit on the board.

I think Canadians would like to see the end of that practice. I think Canadians would like to see some justification for the appointments to the board of the Export Development Corporation. They would like to see that the appointments of a president, CEO or chairman are done in such a manner that they could not be used for political purposes. They want to see people appointed who have earned the right to be there, people who have expertise in the field they will be dealing with, who will be fair and balanced in the decisions they make and who will not unduly risk Canadian taxpayers' money for ventures that are not sound.

Somehow, perhaps reflecting on past appointments, Canadians cannot be confident that this is happening. The amendments to the bill do not deal with that concern. A very real concern that I hear on a very regular basis through my householders is that Canadians are concerned about the way the government does business and appoints individuals to positions for whatever reason, most of them political. Canadians are concerned about that as well as being very concerned about how the government spends their money and how the decisions are made on how to spend their money. I do not see any changes in the legislation that deal with those concerns.

As in many other cases, we see the government putting in housekeeping legislation that deals with minor things like changing the name. Canadians do not care whether it is called the export council of Canada or export development council or whatever. Canadians do not care what it is called. They care about what it does and how it does the business of the day.

The issues of transparency and complying with the laws of Canada with regard to environmental assessments are the issues that Canadians care about. Canadians care that when the government is operating in the global market network we can be proud of how Canada is represented, that it is being represented by a corporation and by the government in a way that makes us proud.

Minor changes to legislation such as changing the name and moving around a few of the powers and oversights and whatnot just do not cut it. I heard my colleague from the Canadian Alliance talking about the decision maker, the oversight and the judge all being one. That basically is still the situation. It has not changed.

Once again we see the government operating in a manner that shows its arrogance and lack of contact and connection with Canadian taxpayers. This shows that it really does not believe in transparency, that it really does not believe in giving access to information to Canadians to let them to know what is going on in their government and how their money is being spent.

I do not buy the argument that there are business decisions that cannot be shared. If the Canadian taxpayer is being asked to put money into a corporation, there should not be anything that the corporation is not willing to share with the people who are paying the bill. If those individuals do not want the ordinary Canadian to have access to that information, then perhaps they should not be asking the Canadian taxpayer to pick up the cost. If they want to avoid disclosure, if they want to avoid access to information, there are private funding sources they can go to that do not have that kind of responsibility to disclose and to be accountable.

The government could have done a much better job of making this crown corporation more accountable, of making this crown corporation more acceptable to the Canadian taxpayer who is putting the money up front. I would hope that the government could, in this legislation as in other legislation, make necessary amendments to make it more appropriate.

[Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada Act, October 26th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the minister's comments and I look forward to seeing the follow up to the blueprint he presented.

However, generally there is a blueprint and a plan before legislation, such as the minister has just recited, is introduced. Normally a plan is put in place first, indicating where the government is going, then the legislation needed to move that forward is brought in. The minister has just confirmed that what the government has done over the past number of years is piecemeal. The legislation has been put on the table without it being part of an overall plan.

I am pleased to see that, after eight years in the government, the minister has come up with a blueprint that looks at transportation over a ten year period, and, after eight years, the government is finally putting a plan together.

[Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada Act, October 26th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to stand and speak on behalf of the coalition for Bill C-34. I hope my colleague from the NDP is not disappointed in the fact that the legislation will do nothing to allow her province or any other province to bring the issue of infrastructure to the government's attention.

I believe I am the only speaker today who attended the committee meeting when the legislation was reviewed. It is a piece of legislation that just responds to decisions that the government has made with regard to the aviation acts, the marine acts and the rail acts. The bill has no presence at this point with the trucking transportation network.

I am pleased to hear that the minister is looking at other legislation regarding transportation. One concern I have had over the years is that there has been a dire lack of a transportation plan by the government. I am hopeful that the legislation we can look forward to receiving is an indication that the government actually has a plan for transportation in Canada. I hope that plan for transportation looks at transportation networks on a continental basis and not just from a national level, although our attention is at a national level.

I am hopeful that the minister respects, and the legislation shows that he does, that each modal of transportation does not operate in isolation. They all interconnect one way or another.

Bill C-34 is basically a housekeeping piece of legislation and is probably long overdue. The aviation tribunal, the predecessor of the tribunal being established, has been successful in meeting the requirements and concerns of the aviation industry.

I am hopeful that reputation and response will continue through marine and rail modals. I am hopeful that the appointments to be made will take into consideration that we need expertise not only from aviation, but from the other modes of transportation as well.

I suggest that the timing of this is probably very appropriate as there have been changes to the marine transportation which may down the road cause some concerns that decisions might be made by governments that want to be challenged.

We had the marine legislation brought before us over the last year and a half which made changes to the way that operates. This tribunal will broaden its scope and will allow the marine industry to question some of the decisions that are made as a result of that legislation. The timing is very good for this particular change.

I mentioned at the committee that we had been assured by the department that it had received input from the marine and rail industries as to the tribunal and the operations it would be partaking in. We understand from government officials in transportation that the concerns of those industries have been addressed and that this legislation is acceptable to them. Having not heard from either the rail or the marine industry, the committee believed that they it was right in moving forward and giving the government its assurance that we would be supporting this.

I am pleased on behalf of the coalition, to give the government our support for increasing the responsibilities of the tribunal to include the marine and the rail industry. We look forward to another successful tenure for those people who are appointed to the tribunal and that they help the government make the right decisions to move the transportation industries forward in the future.

I urge the minister to look at transportation planning from a broad perspective, including all modals, not just nationally but also continentally.