Hoang Mai

[Rail Transportation, March 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, for 20 years the Liberal and Conservative governments have done nothing to phase out old DOT-111 train cars. Such incompetence. Irving announced that it would phase them out over the course of the coming year and CN announced that it would do so over the next four years.

What is the government's timeline? Can the minister tell us whether it is one year or two? We want a number.

[Rail Transportation, March 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the minister that under the briefing we were sworn to secrecy. That is why we are not talking about it.

[Questions on the Order Paper, March 24th, 2014]

With regard to Canada Post’s Five-Point Action Plan: Ready for the Future: (a) when was the government first made aware of the initiative; (b) on what date was Transport Canada first informed of the initiative; (c) were any instructions or comments given by Transport Canada to Canada Post during the process of corporate planning and, if so, what were they; (d) how did Transport Canada analyze Canada Post's corporate plan, (i) how long did it take, (ii) what were Transport Canada’s conclusions, (iii) were any recommendations made and, if so, what were they, (iv) was a deadline for the review and analysis ever established and, if so, what was the deadline; and (e) what approvals were needed by the Department of Finance, (i) when was the Department of Finance first contacted on this matter, (ii) what, specifically, was its response, (iii) was a deadline for the review and analysis ever established and, if so, what was the deadline?

[Champlain Bridge, March 3rd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, this morning the Minister of Infrastructure, Communities and Intergovernmental Affairs presented an uncosted business plan for replacing the Champlain Bridge. I repeat: an uncosted business plan.

There is no dollar figure for the need to replace the toll or for the consequences of imposing a toll on just one of the bridges linking Montreal to the south shore. Instead of holding pointless press conferences, will the minister sit down with his provincial and municipal counterparts in order to agree on a detailed game plan for replacing the Champlain Bridge?

[Tax Evasion, February 27th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate my colleague on his motion. I also want to congratulate him for tackling tax havens.

I used to be the national revenue critic for the official opposition, and I can say that this issue was a priority for the NDP. We keep lagging further and further behind under successive governments, including the Liberals. All of sudden, we are talking about it because the NDP has brought it to the forefront.

My colleague mentioned the fact that Paul Martin, back then, and the Conservative government, now, both said that they would propose numerous measures to address tax havens.

Can he tell us what is actually being done? Why are they saying that they will work on this and where do things stand now?

[Petitions, February 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege today to present a petition that calls on the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to do more for Syrian refugees looking for a country to welcome them.

We have received hundreds of signatures to present to the House and even more electronic signatures. The petitioners call on the Government of Canada to increase the number of government-sponsored Syrian refugees, provide additional resources to the visa office, grant temporary visas to eligible Syrians, speed up the processing of applications and suspend the return of any Syrians to their country until the situation improves.

Finally, I would like to congratulate Amnesty International for doing an outstanding job of raising awareness and encouraging action. Bravo to the people of Amnesty International for doing an exemplary job.

[Rail Transportation, February 25th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, there was another train derailment this past weekend. This time it happened in Saint-Henri, where 3,500 litres of diesel fuel were spilled. Since Lac-Mégantic, it has been one accident after another, and yet the government does nothing. There was nothing in the most recent budget for rail safety: still no deadline for the phase-out of the old DOT-111 cars and a lack of transparency regarding the transportation of explosive goods through our communities.

Does the minister realize that her inaction is putting lives at risk with each passing day?

[Rail Transportation, February 13th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the minister talks about the past, but the victims in Lac-Mégantic are getting a little tired of the minister's inconsistency.

That is probably why they filed a class action lawsuit yesterday against Transport Canada for gross negligence. Transport Canada completely failed to enforce its own rail safety rules, as I mentioned in my previous question.

Does the minister recognize that, by allowing MMA to continue its operations despite repeated violations of the regulations, her government failed in its responsibility to protect Canadians?

[Rail Transportation, February 13th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, 21 violations were documented between 2004 and 2013, but MMA received no penalty here, whereas it received 28 fines in the United States. That is the rail safety record of the Conservatives and the Liberals.

Yesterday, the minister said, “If this company is found to have violated the rules and regulations of this country, it will absolutely be penalized to the ultimate extent of the law”.

The company has violated the rules and regulations 21 times. Why has it never been penalized?

[Rail Transportation, February 12th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, in the years prior to the Lac-Mégantic tragedy, MMA had multiple infractions of a safety rule that requires that a minimum number of handbrakes be applied to secure a train. Despite this abysmal safety record, no minister ever imposed any penalties on these offending companies.

Can the minister explain how, under Liberal and Conservative governments, MMA was able to repeatedly break safety rules without ever facing the consequences?