Lisa Raitt

[Air Canada, March 26th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I do hope that the opposition members listen carefully to what I am about to say because I would hate for them to make the mistake of repeating that untruth outside this place or inside this place again.

The description of what just happened did not happen. There was no conversation with any workers. We acted on behalf of the public interest and the national economy by passing Bill C-33 in order to ensure that there would be services for Canadians and to ensure that we protected the economy. That is what we did.

We are on the side of Canadians. We are not on the side of the big union bosses.

[Protecting Air Service Act, March 14th, 2012]

moved that the bill be read the third time and passed.

Mr. Speaker, bearing in mind what time it is, I will be brief.

It is that time of year when many Canadian families take a welcome break after a long winter. Thousands look forward to trips in March, regardless of where they decide to go. Travel at this time of year makes up a significant part of the year's business for Canada's airline and tourism operators, businesses that contribute a great deal to the Canadian economy.

This year, travellers and businesses alike are watching for the outcome of two possible work stoppages at Air Canada. If a work stoppage were to occur, Canada's economy would face the harsh consequences. A work stoppage during the busy March break period would wreak havoc on the airline.

Today, we are facing potential work stoppages as a result of two disputes. The first one is between Air Canada and its pilots, represented by the Air Canada Pilots Association. The second one is between Air Canada and its technical and operational support employees, such as mechanics, baggage handlers and cargo agents at Air Canada, who are represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

The Government of Canada has worked hard to help all three of these parties at every step in an effort to reach an agreement and avoid a work stoppage. The parties have been in negotiations, each of them, for more than a year. We had provided the parties with conciliation and mediation assistance. The parties reached tentative agreements that were then rejected by the members. Therefore, the parties were provided with and exercised their right to a process of collective bargaining with no government intervention until now.

The parties were given every opportunity to reach an agreement on their own, but to no avail. As agreements do not seem to be imminent and work stoppages are being proposed, the Government of Canada must act now to keep Air Canada in the air.

The inconvenience of a work stoppage to travellers, serious disruptions to Canadian businesses and the potential threat to health and safety would be significant. There is far too much at stake to let this happen.

I urge all parties to pass this legislation and keep Air Canada flying.

[Protecting Air Service Act, March 13th, 2012]

Mr. Chair, while I appreciate the request again by the hon. member, the answer still remains no. We will not be agreeing to any amendments to this bill.

[Protecting Air Service Act, March 13th, 2012]

Mr. Chair, I can say that the practice we followed with respect to Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers was that we did indeed ask both parties for consultation on arbitrators when we first set out to appoint an arbitrator. We received their advice not once, but twice. I see no reason why we would not take the same approach. However, we do not need to make any amendments to this bill in order for that discretion to be exercised.

[Protecting Air Service Act, March 13th, 2012]

Mr. Chair, I would be pleased to provide an update on the process.

With respect to the machinists, the IAMAW, their contract expired and we received a notice of bargaining in March 2011. Indeed, a notice of dispute came in December 2011. We appointed Madame Louise Otis as the conciliation commissioner in December 2011. The conciliation process worked. Madame Otis was able to get a deal at the table. Unfortunately, in that case the deal was not ratified by the membership. However, she did write in her conciliation report to us that she felt it was a very fair and reasonable deal, that the negotiation was arduous, that the parties were competent at the table, that they reached a deal, and that indeed no new negotiations needed to be commenced because they had exhausted the entire process.

Despite that, we provided an officer from the conciliation services to aid the parties in trying to get back to the table and reach a deal, and they remained able to do so. Unfortunately, it culminated in a strike notice from the union. As a result of that, we are here today introducing legislation in the House. However, it still remains for the parties to reach their own conclusion and their own deal. That is exactly what they should be doing. They should be talking to one another and avoiding this process, a process they will have to deal with should they not find their own way.

[Protecting Air Service Act, March 13th, 2012]

Mr. Chair, I can say that if there were to be a work stoppage during the period of time that has been indicated, the March break, there would be no alternate domestic air service to the following places in British Columbia: Castlegar, Nanaimo, Penticton, Sandspit. In Ontario it would be Kingston and Sarnia. In Alberta, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat would have no air service. In Newfoundland it would be Gander. In Nova Scotia it would be Sydney. In New Brunswick it would be Saint John, Bathurst and Fredericton. In Quebec it would be Gaspé and Îles de la Madeleine.

As well, Air Canada provides 70% of the domestic seat capacity in the following airports: Kamloops and Prince Rupert, British Columbia; Baie-Comeau, Montreal and Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec; and Moncton, New Brunswick.

[Protecting Air Service Act, March 13th, 2012]

Mr. Chair, as I mentioned in my opening remarks, indeed since 1984 there have been 35 work stoppages in the air transportation industry. Six of them have been with Air Canada.

The one we were speaking about earlier was the situation involving the pilots in 1998, when there was a 13 day strike. That strike cost Air Canada $300 million according to media reports. It cost the Canadian economy $133 million.

I would ask the opposition, exactly what did the pilots get in return for those 13 days in which they held up the country with the inability to travel? Was it worth the $133 million to our economy? I do not think it was.

[Protecting Air Service Act, March 13th, 2012]

Mr. Chair, we agree with the analysis of Captain Strachan when he gave his testimony before the Senate committee. It caught our attention because it was a very clear statement by the Air Canada Pilots Association of what it felt its role was.

That is why we were very concerned and disappointed when we asked them not to take a strike vote because they themselves acknowledged they were essential to the recovery. We offered to give them interest-based mediation arbitration with the company but they turned it down, even though they felt they were essential to the economy, even though they knew what the impact would be. We offered them a process that the company had agreed to, but they opted not to take it. They opted to take a strike vote.

That was an important telling tale for me as to what would be coming in the future. Without being able to have any kind of agreement between the parties, we have to act now. We have to ensure that there is no work stoppage.

[Protecting Air Service Act, March 13th, 2012]

Mr. Chair, Air Canada, when Air Canada Express is included, carries on average about 103,000 passengers per day and that is easily one million passengers. That is a lot of people who are flying either because of travel for leisure or business. Every one of those people would have to make alternate arrangements.

The reality of the matter is that no matter how great an airline WestJet is, no matter how great an airline Porter is, and the great services those airlines provide, Air Canada is 3.7 times bigger than its nearest domestic competitor in the version of WestJet. Other air carriers do not have the capacity to carry the passengers that would be displaced.

A work stoppage would have an immediate effect. Passengers would be stranded. Stories in the press would be about those individuals and families who would be stranded in a place that is not their home. That is why we are acting in the best interests of the Canadian public, and not picking a side at the table as the opposition is doing with respect to the unions.

[Protecting Air Service Act, March 13th, 2012]

Mr. Chair, in speaking to the importance of the airlines, I have already mentioned the number of flights Air Canada has per day, including its affiliation with Air Canada Express. As well, we can draw from different examples around the world.

In October of this past year there was a grounding of the Qantas fleet in Australia. The Australian government referred the matter to its Fair Work Australia board, which is much like our CIRB. It found in that case, in a geography that is very similar to ours, the size of an airline that is very similar to ours, in a hub system that is very similar to ours, the impact on tourism was such that it was of economic significance. It did order the airline to commence operations again and stop the industrial action that was happening with respect to strikes by pilots and the shutting down of the airline by the airline itself.

It was a very similar situation to what we have here today with a work stoppage being threatened by both a lockout by management and a strike by employees. We take the matter seriously and that is why we are moving on it.