David Collenette

[Air Transportation, October 21st, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, this has to be done in stages. There is a process involving the shareholders of Air Canada, then one involving the government and the members of this House. Obviously, the Prime Minister and I agree completely with this process. As I said, the process is good for the Canadian public, because it will bring about the restructuring of this industry.

[Air Transportation, October 21st, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, obviously we have two offers. It is up to the Air Canada shareholders to decide which is best for them. After, when the government has received a conditional agreement, we shall see whether the offer is in keeping with the government's principles. In our opinion, the process is working, and working fine.

[Airline Industry, October 21st, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, it is really quite odd that the hon. member is quoting from past reports of the bureau, which certainly were very reflective of the situation at the time.

However, the bureau is now working on a new report, which will be made available to me very shortly and will be made public. It will help us in the restructuring process. These are the guidelines being issued by the bureau under the auspices of section 47 of the Canada Transport Act.

[Airline Industry, October 21st, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. member should read the Canada Transportation Act because he will see that the use of section 47 is done so only with the authority of not only the Minister of Transport, but the Minister of Industry.

My colleague, the Minister of Industry, and I have worked on this file in concert from the beginning. We continue to do so. The section 47 process that we brought forward on August 13 is working because we now have private sector proposals that allow the restructuring of the airline industry.

[Airline Industry, October 20th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows that we are going through the very difficult process of assessing the needs of the airline industry. We have put in motion a process that has brought forward private sector solutions. Those solutions or a solution coming from the shareholders will be submitted to government to apply the public interest test against those principles. I invite the hon. member to come on Tuesday when I speak to the committee so that we can discuss this matter more fully.

[Air Transportation, October 20th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, as I said yesterday, we have set five principles for the restructuring of our air transportation system, but there is one principle, which is very important and which is non-negotiable as far as the government is concerned, and that is the application of the Official Languages Act, which is important for all Canadians.

[Air Transportation, October 20th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the issue raised this morning by the pilots falls completely within the jurisdiction of the Canadian Transportation Agency. I will not comment on the process, because it is not my responsibility to do so. It is up to the courts to deal with this issue.

[Competition Bureau, October 20th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, all of the proposals that have come forward are applicable to section 47 of the Canada Transportation Act. The Competition Bureau certainly has a role. It will be issuing its report within a matter of days. The report will be made public and will help guide the hon. member and everyone else on this important issue.

[Air Transportation, October 19th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, in addition to the five principles I have already stated: consumer protection, protection of level of service to small communities, protection of employee rights, promotion of competition, and promotion of effective control by Canadian interests, there is one other that is inescapable and unquestionable, namely enforcement of the Official Languages Act.

[Airline Industry, October 19th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the treatment we have treats everyone equally and that is the treatment envisaged under section 47 as I have just described.