Hoang Mai

[Committees of the House, June 17th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour for me to present the NDP's dissenting opinion, in both official languages. I would like to thank and congratulate the MP for Beaches—East York, the NDP's infrastructure and urban affairs critic, who worked really hard on this matter.

We issued a dissenting opinion because the committee, with its Conservative majority, left some important testimony out of the final report. Unfortunately, studies on first nations infrastructure and communities were left out. The NDP's dissenting report includes recommendations about infrastructure, such as our bridges and roads, and public transit. We need to make sure that future generations do not have to bear the financial burden for that infrastructure.

[Labour, June 15th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, hundreds of aircraft refuelers at Trudeau and Pearson airports are worried about losing their jobs.

They are accusing Air Canada and other airlines of changing contractors to hire the same employees for less pay and fewer benefits. The workers whose jobs are in peril have submitted complaints of unfair labour practices to the Canada Industrial Relations Board.

Will the Conservatives stand by twiddling their thumbs while hundreds of people lose their jobs?

[Shipping, June 11th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, the minister should at least talk with the other minister about what is really going on. On the one hand, the Coast Guard announced that only that part of the river from Anticosti Island to Quebec City is covered by the emergency response plan, but on the other, Transport Canada is telling us that the corridor really does go all the way to Montreal. Who is right? It is not clear.

When a spill happens, that is not the time to ask questions. The people and municipal elected officials need fast, effective intervention. What will the minister do to clear up this situation and protect people?

[Petitions, June 11th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to rise today to present a petition prepared by the Comité citoyen de la région du lac Mégantic. Many residents of the region have signed the petition, because a number of questions remain unanswered. They are calling on the Government of Canada to call a public inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the MMA train derailment that took the lives of 47 people and destroyed and contaminated downtown Lac-Mégantic on July 6, 2013.

[Infrastructure, June 8th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, obviously, the Conservatives' plan is not working.

The evidence in the greater metropolitan area is clear: our bridges are crumbling, traffic congestion is costing the middle class billions of dollars, and people are late for work and late picking their children up at day care. Parents are wasting precious minutes on the road that they could be spending with their children.

The NDP will invest in public transit. We need to repair our roads and bridges.

Will the Conservatives do what the NDP does and work with the municipalities or will they continue to stick future generations with the bill?

[Transportation Safety, June 2nd, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, the truth is that it was the NDP that forced the government to take action.

The minister finally announced that she was introducing a bill to give Transport Canada the power to recall vehicles. However, what the minister did not say is that her department's budget for vehicle safety has been cut by nearly 35% since 2009. In 2009, there were 126 full-time employees. Today, we know there are far fewer.

How can the minister claim that fewer employees does not mean less oversight?

[Transport, May 27th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, that is incredible. It sounds like they are waiting for deaths to occur before taking action.

Unfortunately, the death toll resulting from the delayed recall of GM vehicles is rising. To date, GM has acknowledged its responsibility in 107 deaths and 199 cases of injury linked to defective ignition switches. It is time for the government to step up to the plate before other tragedies occur.

I will repeat my question: when will Transport Canada finally have the authority to issue recalls?

[Transport, May 27th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, Dany Dubuc-Marquis was involved in a fatal accident due to a faulty ignition switch in his car, yet for eight months the government did nothing. Only after GM had issued a recall did the problem even begin to be addressed. Now we have seen the same lack of oversight with the recent Takata airbag recall.

When will the minister finally give powers to Transport Canada to issue recalls?

[Champlain Bridge, May 26th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, two-thirds of the Champlain Bridge beams are in extremely poor condition. Seven central beams received the worst possible rating. The Federal Bridge Corporation Limited report is damning.

The Conservative and Liberal governments dragged their heels on this, and now the bridge is deteriorating before our eyes. People are very worried and want to see all of the reports.

Will the minister be transparent and tell us how it got to this point?

[Railway Safety Act, May 7th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for introducing Bill C-627, which I will be talking about. This bill is a step in the right direction, but it underscores the gaps in existing regulations.

The NDP has long criticized the fact that companies are allowed to self-regulate and self-inspect. The objective is to provide powers to the minister and inspectors so they can intervene if there is a problem.

However, there are not enough inspectors. We have been looking at this issue for a long time in committee, and the problem has not necessarily been solved. Yes, we can grant more powers, but if there is nobody on the ground to ensure that rails and crossings are safe, that does not solve the problem. The Conservatives have cut the budget for rail inspection by 20% since 2010. The government is not investing in inspections.

I support the bill since it is a step in the right direction, even though it is a private member's bill and it conflicts somewhat with Bill C-52, which I talked about earlier. The fact that members have to fix government rail safety regulations shows that there are problems.

What is funny is that in committee, we examined Bill C-627, a private member's bill, before we examined Bill C-52, but we debated Bill C-52 first. Bill C-52 really should have contained mechanisms that referenced Bill C-627. It is a bit complicated and it shows that the government did not do its homework with regard to rail regulations. The government is rushing to fix things after the Lac-Mégantic tragedy, and it is improvising quite a bit.

In short, I will support the bill because it is a step in the right direction. However, the government could do more in terms of rail safety.