Lisa Raitt

[Marine Transportation, October 7th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for the excellent question. This is a historic occasion. The MV Nunavik successfully navigated the fabled Northwest Passage. It is the first vessel to carry an Arctic cargo the full length of the Northwest Passage unescorted. The fact is that it is a polar-class vessel, independently capable of breaking ice without the help of an icebreaker in extreme and harsh Arctic conditions.

The Nunavik is scheduled to complete its journey on October 14. I know members of the House want to congratulate that great Canadian company, Fednav. I too applaud the entire team of Fednav on this historic northern voyage.

[Rail Transportation, October 7th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the government is aware of this incident in Saskatchewan. Obviously, we are thinking of those who are involved currently. As well, we are thinking of the first responders who are responding to the fire that has ensued as a result.

Our government has done tremendous work on rail safety in the country, but this does show that accidents like this can happen. The Transportation Safety Board, of course, will conduct its study to determine what the cause of this was and until then we just hope everyone is going to be safe and sound in that part of the country.

[Canada Post, October 7th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the fact of the matter is that currently in Canada two-thirds of Canadians do not receive their mail at their door.

More importantly, this issue has come up with municipalities across Canada and collectively, as one single voice, they considered a resolution asking the government to tell Canada Post to reverse its decision on community mailboxes. The result of that was a resounding defeat of that resolution. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities and municipalities across the country understand the issues Canada Post is facing and they are supportive.

[The Environment, October 7th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, we are very grateful for the environment commissioner's report and recommendations, and we have already indicated that we will accept the recommendations.

At Transport Canada, however, we have been working on this issue for a very long period of time. As most members should know and remember, we have a great world-class tanker panel that has been looking at safety, including specifically on shipping in the north.

We understand the panel will soon be completing its second phase. I am very much looking forward to the report because it shows that this government is on this issue.

[Canada Post, October 6th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the reality is that they do not.

Canada Post is facing a serious cash crunch going into the future. As a result, it has put together a five-point plan that will enable it to remain self-sufficient, as it is supposed to do under the terms of its statute. One of the contingencies in this plan is that it goes to community mail boxes.

Indeed, it is important to note that the Federation of Canadian Municipalities overwhelmingly rejected a motion brought to its floor asking that the federation condemn the government and reverse the decision. It said no to that.

Canada Post will continue with its plan.

[Marine Transportation, September 29th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, when Transport Canada officials assess projects or when they are undertaking whether or not vessels can be utilized in certain harbours and safe ports in our geography, they do take into consideration safety and security, other people who work on board the vessel, and other people in the area. That is their primary focus, and in this case, that is exactly what happened.

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, September 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member can note that not only did we announce that act, we brought it into place in order to ensure that on an emergency basis we are moving grain, the incredible crop that we had last year. We are moving it as quickly as we possibly can through the rail system.

At the same time, I announced a review of the Canada Transportation Act. That is exactly what we are attempting to do. Through the group of people led by David Emerson, it will look at future opportunities and challenges, have lots of stakeholder interaction, and make sure we have the appropriate policy framework moving forward.

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, September 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that it is this agriculture minister who has continuously stood up for farmers in the west, and indeed in all parts of this country, specifically on this file, having recognized the problem early and ensuring that we bring in emergency legislation to deal with the matter as quickly as possible. That is exactly what we have done. Members on the other side of the House can make all the complaints they want; the current agriculture minister got the job done. The grain is moving, and it will continue to move in this country.

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, September 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member should know that the act says that it is per violation for $100,000.

CN and CP have been told what levels of grain they must ship in order to ensure we are moving grain in the country. They have not hit their targets in the last number of weeks. As a result, we have appointed an enforcement officer who is investigating. We will hold the companies accountable for their lack of grain movement.

This government is here to protect Canadian farmers.

[Rail Transportation, September 25th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I welcome the question from the opposition member, because we have been doing so much on this file since 2006.

We have issued protective disclosures to ensure that we have safe tank cars. We want to make sure that operations are as safe as possible in Canada.

We know that we are going to responsibly develop our resources in this country. We know that we will sign more free trade agreements in this country. Transportation of these goods in a safe manner is extremely important as well, and we will continue to work on that.