David Collenette

[Airline Industry, November 19th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I might remind the hon. member that Bill C-26 and the former parliament did extract conditions from Air Canada to serve small communities across the country that Canadian Airlines served and Air Canada served at the time for a period of three years. This government and parliament supported the notion that these communities had to be protected. This provided a transition period for other companies to provide the service.

Certainly the competition was developing very well before September 11 but the tragic events have had an incredible effect, not only in Canada but around the world. We now have to assess the situation and determine what policy changes are required to ensure further competition.

[Airline Industry, November 19th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, the bankruptcy of Canada 3000 is unfortunate, especially for workers, but also for Canadians who are losing their air service.

Prior to September 11, we had an airline policy that worked well, but the tragic events affected the airline industry throughout the world, not only here in Canada. I think we must do some thinking and consider making improvements to our policy.

[Airline Security, November 9th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I cannot believe the hon. member is denigrating those workers and all those people involved in airline security who have been under such pressure since September 11.

The government's priority has been to put in new regulations and ensure that those regulations are enforced rather than looking at who delivers the service. All of this is under review by the government. We are examining the situation. I want to assure Canadians that the security they have at the airports is extremely good.

[Air Transportation, November 9th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, there are no loan guarantees at the moment for Canada 3000, Air Transat or Air Canada.

We are looking at the current situation to see if we can improve things with Canada 3000.

[Air Transportation, November 9th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, as I have already said, the situation with Canada 3000 is unfortunate.

However, discussions are continuing and a loan guarantee may still be possible. We will await the outcome of all the discussions.

[Airline Industry, November 9th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, implicit in the hon. member's question is that the Conservative Alliance, or DRC or whatever it is called, wants the government to hand over $75 million without the due diligence being done.

The government will look after taxpayer money. It has said the loan guarantee would only be forthcoming if certain conditions were met, and they have not been met at this point in time.

[Airline Industry, November 9th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, it is nice to stand in the House and play these partisan games while people are hurting and while travellers are stuck in places they do not want to be.

I will remind the hon. member from the fifth party that, when he was with the Alliance or Reform or the opposition, he supported Bill C-26 and he supported the current policy, and I would hope that he would have the guts to stand up and continue to support it.

[Airline Industry, November 9th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member made a false assertion. I did not state that yesterday. I stated that the company had informed me it would continue to operate. It looked at the situation last night and decided it could not continue. Therefore it chose to shut down overnight.

I do not mind defending the government's policy and dealing with the facts, but let us not have wrong assertions on the part of the opposition.

[Airline Industry, November 9th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has to recognize that the airline industry in the world is in a state of crisis since September 11. For him to stand in the House and talk about only the Canadian context is wrong and is misleading Canadians.

I would remind him that since September 11 we have offered a package of $160 million by way of compensation. We have dealt with the war risk liability insurance. We have a bill in the House right now to help Air Canada raise capital. This government is acting, will act and will continue to act.

[Airline Industry, November 9th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member again talks about policy, policy that his party supported 18 months ago and has continued to support. I do not think that they should fool Canadians with that kind of rhetoric.

This is a very difficult situation and just before question period we had been in touch with officials from Canada 3000. They have contacted us. They do believe that they can still operate, that parties are coming to the table. This particular situation is just not finished.