David Collenette

[Air Canada, September 28th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, clearly Air Canada was experiencing difficulties prior to September 11. This was widely reported in the press. There were talks held between myself, my officials and Air Canada to discuss the problems. Air Canada made a number of proposals for improving the situation.

[Citizenship and Immigration, September 27th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, regrettably, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration is unable to be in the House today. I will take the hon. member's representations and bring them to her attention.

[Airline Industry, September 27th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, in discussing this matter, we have always talked about potential compensation of the airlines for losses sustained as a result of September 11 and perhaps some other measures to ensure they get back to business normally.

We want to make sure that the competition that was developing before September 11 with WestJet, Canada 3000 and other carriers in the country with a rebalancing of the market share, continues and is enhanced.

I believe any financial assistance must take note of that particular policy of the government.

[Airline Safety, September 27th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, it is my intention to introduce in the House of Commons a new bill on airports and on the national airport network across the country.

I accept the advice of the hon. member and I am prepared to discuss this issue with my officials.

[Airline Safety, September 27th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I have already answered this question. The focus right now should be on the new enhanced standards we put in place and making sure that those are enforced. Who does the actual screening at airports is a matter that we can debate another day.

What the travelling public wants to know is that the new standards are in place and being properly enforced, and that is what is happening across the country.

[Airline Safety, September 27th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, we already did that before the planes went back into the skies. The issue here is to have consistency of standards and enforcement across the country. As I said yesterday in the House, we are beefing up our enforcement by security personnel to ensure that compliance is fully practised across the country.

I do not think the opposition should come in here every day and try to scare the Canadian travelling public when we all have an obligation to tell people to get back into the skies and fly as normal.

[Airline Safety, September 27th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member's question is highly inaccurate. Transport Canada works with the FAA on all security matters and in discussing the responses to September 11, we agreed on certain measures.

The measures put in place by Canada are quite in accordance with what is being done in the United States. In fact, the U.S. is making adjustments to Canadian practice in the same way that we make adjustments to U.S. practice. There is a seamless security regime in place.

On the question of air marshals, I have already answered that. We believe security begins on the ground. The Canadian way of not having armed personnel on commercial aircraft.

[Airline Industry, September 27th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, the premise of the hon. member's question is wrong. He is looking at published reports, speculative reports, requests by Air Canada for a certain level of assistance. Certainly whatever assistance will be given will not be cheap, but to make the assertion that he just made is completely unwarranted.

[Airline Industry, September 27th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, when the question was asked of me in a scrum outside the House, it was in the context of assistance to the airline industry. I have always been very specific that whatever we do will be done in a global context for the entire industry.

I said that any assistance will not come cheap. It will be expensive. Currently these matters are under review and I hope to be able to say something soon.

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

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-34, an act to establish the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada and to make consequential amendments to other acts.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)