Jeff Watson

[Business of Supply, January 28th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, leave it to the member to have a Blockbuster Video mentality in a Netflix world.

On the subject of postal banking, the opposition's position is not very well thought out or supported by relevant global examples. Perhaps the member opposite could actually answer the question that her party's critic could not answer this morning. How much would it cost Canada Post to capitalize a bank, and how does she propose that Canada Post pay for the capitalization of a new bank and, for that matter, what would be the ongoing costs of operating postal branch bank outlets?

[Business of Supply, January 28th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I will make note that the member did not mention that the CFIB and its members did support the elimination of door-to-door delivery in all of Canada, and they said so at the hearing.

It is far easier to criticize a plan that somebody else has decided on. It is far tougher to wade through the complex issues and make the complex decisions and the sometimes tough decisions that result from complex problems. I did not hear any solution other than “let us have a dialogue” from the member opposite.

Since the member mentioned that there is an impact on seniors, and that was a very central point of his intervention, is he advocating an expansion of door-to-door delivery in Canada to the two-thirds of addresses that currently do not have it? Presumably, if seniors living in that part of Canada are adversely affected and cannot cope with it, the member must support an expansion of services.

First, does the member support an expansion of services? Second, how does he propose that Canada Post pay for an expansion of door-to-door delivery to the other two-thirds of Canada?

[Business of Supply, January 28th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I have a report which notes that declining letter volume has accelerated since 2008, mail loss is increasing, and the pension deficit worsened. That is not from a Conference Board report, that is from an update on the Hooper report in the U.K. We have what witnesses at committee agreed was a structural problem. It is a global problem, and the only ones who have their heads in the sand are the New Democrats, who are quoting from a report authored by their former director of parliamentary affairs, and who think that everything is okay.

I would like the minister to correct one comment made by the official opposition critic, when she said there would be higher prices for lower services to businesses. Is it not, in fact, that the new costs would actually reflect the real or actual costs of doing business, not that they are going to somehow get lower service for the cost?

[Business of Supply, January 28th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I listened to the member with some interest here. If they want to look at what international examples there are, since the member raised a few, they will see that in the EU they are fully competitive and have no postal monopoly. Many are privatized. Many slashed their workforces by up to 40%, and they have expanded franchise counters significantly. Canada Post has not even proposed doing most of those things.

However, I do have a question on postal banking, which she raised as a possible solution. In the example of New Zealand, the post office created the bank there and then had to capitalize the bank out of postal revenues to the tune of about $360 million. Sure, while Kiwibank may be profitable, in the end New Zealand just announced it is slashing service delivery, closing post offices and, as a result, laying off about 1,000 postal workers. Is that the example the member is thinking of?

Can the member tell us, since the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives could not, who will capitalize a postal bank? How much capitalization will come out of postal revenues? Does she think Canada Post can afford to create a bank?

[The Economy, December 10th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, recently Warren Buffett and Jorge Lemann, after buying Heinz, announced that they are padlocking the Leamington plant next year, throwing 740 people out of work. This is devastating for workers, farmers, and the supply chain and for Leamington, Kingsville, and our region. The billionaires apparently have money to burn, just not to invest in Leamington.

Even lower than two billionaires bottom-lining was the ambulance-chasing of the federal and provincial NDP, falsely blaming a regulatory change that never occurred. Canadian container-size regulations remain in place for the food processing sector.

By contrast, our government will help these workers through EI and job retraining. Our economic action plans have put in place millions for the processing sector and have renewed FedDev Ontario with nearly a billion dollars, in spite of NDP opposition. Local efforts are in full gear to find a new proponent with a plan to restore hope and opportunity to our region. With our programs, our government is ready to help.

[Rail Transportation, December 6th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, positive train control, which has been talked about a lot by New Democrats, in fact is not part of the TSB's recommendations, though Transport Canada is monitoring its implementation in the United States.

Transport Canada is currently working with industry to look at possible fail-safe train controls here.

[Rail Transportation, December 6th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, in fact, the health and safety of Canadians is our top priority. We obviously thank the Auditor General for his report and his recommendations. I understand that Transport Canada has accepted all of the recommendations in the report. Not only that, the minister has tasked the standing committee on transport to study the transportation of dangerous goods to ensure that they are moved safely, including the implementation of safety management systems across air, marine, and rail sectors.

We are taking the same approach to that of the world-class tanker safety initiative we developed to focused on prevention, response, and liability.

[Rail Transportation, December 5th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the member is suggesting that he knows the causes of the tragedy in Lac-Mégantic. Independent investigators are still continuing their investigation.

We will let them continue with that independent investigation, and Transport Canada will not hesitate to act on any recommendations.

[Rail Transportation, December 5th, 2013]

Quite on the contrary, Mr. Speaker, this government has taken a number of important actions with respect to rail safety: made significant investment in the rail safety system with an emergency directive and two protective directions and information sharing with the municipalities.

This is what one member said regarding the transportation of dangerous goods by rail:

Shipping materials by train are...very safe, and the record is really quite good.

Who said that? It was the senior transport critic for the New Democratic Party.

[Air Transportation, December 4th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the member will know that Transport Canada does not give permits for building aerodromes. Transport Canada's role is to ensure that all safety regulations are respected and followed.

On that note, the minister has tasked officials to look into this matter on an expedited basis.