Kate Young

[International Day of Women and Girls in Science, February 13th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, on Saturday, scientists around the world marked International Day of Women and Girls in Science. This prestigious day was formally adopted by the UN in December 2015 as a way to demonstrate the continuing resolve of member states, including Canada, to eliminate gender inequality in the sciences.

Right now, only 22% of people working in STEM fields are women. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and math. We can and must do better.

Our government is committed to improving that number. The Minister of Science has taken a series of concrete actions that address gender imbalance in research, including reinstating the university college academic survey, making changes to the Canada excellence research chairs program to increase equity provisions, and launching an advertising campaign to encourage women and girls to pursue STEM careers.

The minister's actions build on our government's commitment to diversity, to equality, and to providing opportunities for all Canadians.

[Petitions, January 30th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition has more than two dozen signatures of individuals in London, Ontario, who are asking the Government of Canada to undertake public consultations to amend the Canada Elections Act to ensure voters can cast an equal and effective vote; be represented fairly in Parliament regardless of political belief or place of residence; be governed by a fairly elected parliament where the share of seats held by each political party closely reflects the popular vote; live under legitimate laws approved by a majority of elected parliamentarians representing a majority of voters; and expect introduction of a suitable form of proportional representation as a result of the requested public consultations.

[Petitions, January 30th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to present two petitions. I am pleased to first present a petition on behalf of more than 400 people across London. The congregation of Lambeth United Church has undertaken private sponsorship of the Ghazel family. Currently, the family resides in Aleppo, waiting for the immigration interview process to begin.

The petition asks that the Ghazel family's immigration file be expedited due to the high risk of injury or looming threat of death.

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, December 12th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, our government understands the scope and importance of the grain sector and that a strong rail-based supply chain system is essential so that all Canadian producers and shippers can remain competitive in domestic and international markets. As such, we have been consulting with farmer organizations, other agricultural associations, and shippers.

The minister met personally with grain producer groups on October 20 in Saskatoon. I have met with grain producer groups as well in the past few months. I would like to assure members that as part of our commitment to the efficient operation of the freight rail service for all commodities, including grain, we have been carefully considering the CTA review report as well as all the comments received so far from a broad range of stakeholders, Canadians, indigenous groups, and provincial and territorial governments. All of this is helping us make informed decisions on policies that will support the efficiency and competitiveness of Canada's transportation system.

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, December 12th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, over the last few months, our government has encouraged Canadians to submit their ideas on how Canada's transportation system can continue to support our nation's economic competitiveness, trade objectives, and prosperity.

On April 27, the Minister of Transport launched an initiative to discuss his vision for the future of Canadian transportation. Soon after, in May, we started consulting with Canadians, stakeholders, indigenous groups, and provinces and territories, listening to their views and discussing with them ideas for a long-term agenda for transportation in Canada.

These consultations took many forms, including a series of structured round tables that the Minister of Transport himself hosted based on five themes: safer transportation; trade corridors to global markets; green and innovative transportation; the traveller; and waterways, coasts, and the north. We continued to engage the public throughout the summer, and we continued to do so this fall.

Our officials met with many stakeholders, including producers and grain shippers, as did other ministers. The Minister of Transport also met with his provincial and territorial counterparts at the end of September. On October 20, he met with grain producer groups. In addition to these meetings, several stakeholders, including many producer associations, have written to the minister and to some of his colleagues with their views.

Many stakeholders rely on Canada's transportation system to get their goods to market, both domestically and overseas. Manufacturers of consumer goods, mineral products, petroleum products, wood and paper products, plastics and chemicals, and yes, farm products, all rely on Canada's transportation system.

We have heard how important, efficient, and resilient the transportation system is in supporting Canada's trade competitiveness. We have also heard about the need for supply chain partners to work together with each other and with government. All the valuable comments we have received so far are being carefully considered. These comments, along with our assessment of the CTA review report, are invaluable to our work as we consider measures to strengthen the efficiency and competitiveness of Canada's freight rail system as a whole.

Let me be clear. The Minister of Transport and his officials are meeting regularly with a broad range of groups and individuals to discuss these issues as well as other freight rail transportation issues. I can assure the House that we all have a shared interest in working together to ensure that our transportation system in Canada performs optimally, because we know that a well-functioning transportation system is critical to this country's economic growth.

[Rail Transportation, December 9th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned earlier, our government is committed to improved rail safety, and we stand by the people of Lac-Mégantic. I repeat that our thoughts are with the victims of this tragedy.

The member should note that the final results of the city-led study have not been released. We are still awaiting the technical details. Therefore, we would like to see the results before rendering a final decision, but we are conscious that the citizens of Lac-Mégantic would like a rail bypass.

[Infrastructure, December 9th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I want to mention that our government is obviously committed to getting Canadian products to global markets.

Canada is a trading nation, and being competitive on a global scale requires world-class infrastructure. That is why, to support this, we are investing $10.1 billion over 11 years, as announced in the fall economic statement. We will make strategic investments in trade and transportation projects that build stronger and more efficient transportation corridors to international markets and help Canadian businesses to compete, grow, and create more jobs for Canada's middle class.

[Rail Transportation, December 9th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, our thoughts continue to be with the families of victims of the tragic July 2013 events in Lac-Mégantic. Our government is committed to improving rail safety, and we stand by the people of Lac-Mégantic.

The minister had the honour of meeting with citizens of the area to hear their thoughts and concerns. Furthermore, he was grateful to have Denis Lauzon, the fire chief of Lac-Mégantic, with him as he announced transportation 2013, a plan that will noticeably accelerate the review of the Railway Safety Act in order to further improve railway safety.

[Mothers Against Drunk Driving, December 9th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, in recent weeks, London, Ontario, has been saddened by tragedies in our community as a result of drunk driving. As the holiday season is now under way, it is more important than ever that we keep our friends and loved ones safe.

I would like to personally acknowledge the efforts of the London chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving and its dedicated core of volunteers, who have worked diligently for many years to keep our roads safe for everyone. These incredible volunteers are continuously educating the public and supporting local victims and survivors. They participate at RIDE checkpoints, make classroom presentations, and support national programs, such as the school assembly program and project red ribbon.

I encourage everyone to call their local police stations if they see any suspicious drivers. I would also like to remind Canadians that keeping our roads safe also means that they should not be reporting RIDE checkpoints on any social media channels. Together we can all make sure our loved ones get home safe over the holidays.

[Transport, December 7th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned earlier, under the 1994 national airports policy, the Government of Canada transferred responsibility for the management, operation, and development of Canada's major airports to private, not-for-profit, non-share, capital airport authorities. As such, airport authorities manage their own subleases, both their financial terms, and any lease or rental increases.

Transport Canada, as landlord and regulator, is not involved in an airport's day-to-day operations and decision-making. It would not be a party to any dispute between the airport and its subtenant. Given that this matter has been referred to the Competition Tribunal and is currently being adjudicated, it would be inappropriate to make further public comment.