David Collenette

[National Security, September 20th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, the hon. member should know that during the crisis last week, we did not wonder about having meetings and procedures. We went into action. Lives had been lost. Air space had been violated. Terrorism was rampant. The Prime Minister worked with the line ministers and with the officials of the various departments to put in place very effective and immediate measures to deal with the crisis.

[Terrorism, September 20th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I have said consistently over the last week that every single aspect of aviation security, whether it is on the planes, whether it is at the airports, whether it is on the air side, is under review and we will take every measure to protect the travelling public. In fact this afternoon I am meeting with the industry to discuss these and other matters.

[Terrorism, September 20th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, last week we were faced with an enormous crisis where these buildings were destroyed in a matter of seconds, where air space was closed. I would ask the hon. member to ascertain the facts before he comes to the House and alarms people, because every security precaution was taken as soon as this became known.

[House of Commons, September 20th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague the solicitor general has enunciated a fundamental parliamentary principle. I am surprised that the hon. member for Calgary Centre, a former prime minister of this country, does not understand that in times of crisis intelligence gathering is something that must be kept very, very secure for obvious reasons. It is in the national interest.

[Terrorism, September 20th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. Minister of Justice answered this question very clearly yesterday. This matter is now before the courts. I do not think we should say anything further about it.

[Airlines Industry, September 19th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, as I have explained, I discussed the problem with the heads of all the airlines across the country. We are very concerned about maintaining the viability of the airlines.

However, we must have all the facts before a decision is made. Up to now, we have reached no decision on financial assistance, but we are studying the matter in its entirety.

[The Economy, September 19th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, at the moment, as I said to the hon. member for Churchill, we are getting a little ahead of ourselves. We have to assess the degree of the dislocation and the damage and there is no doubt that there has been a lot of it. Once we have that assessment we will deal with the facts and decide what if anything should be done. That is just one aspect of the transportation industry.

The member rightly identifies the trucking industry. There are others. The shipping industry was also affected, plus manufacturers, as he said. Let us get the facts before we act.

[Airline Industry, September 19th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I do believe I answered this question a few minutes ago. I would like to say that there has been no decision taken in the United States, either by the congress or the administration, on specific measures to help the airline industry. It is under review.

We have to make sure that if any assistance is forthcoming such assistance is properly identifiable to the needs of the companies and will deal not only with the problem at hand, but will deal with fairness not just to the airline industries but to all those other industries that have been affected.

[Airline Industry, September 19th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is getting ahead of herself a little bit. We are currently assessing the financial situation not just of Air Canada but of all the companies. I have been in touch with the chief executive officers of the major Canadian airline companies. We are concerned about the viability. We are concerned about the integrity. We are concerned about service to communities and we are concerned about all the people that work for the airlines.

Once this evaluation is complete then we will be in a position to decide what, if anything, should be done.

[Airline Industry, September 18th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, we are very concerned about the health of the airline industry. We are in discussions with the airlines. I have talked to the CEOs of the major airlines in the last few days.

We want to make sure that we have all the facts before us before we make any assessment of the situation. There is no question that this country depends on a healthy airline sector.