Lisa Raitt

[Canada Post, September 24th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said in the House before, Canada Post is facing a reality where people are simply not utilizing the mail anymore. They are using other means to send their transmissions. As a result, there were one billion fewer pieces of mail delivered in 2012. It has taken a five-point plan, put together to ensure that going forward it will be self-sufficient, as it is supposed to be under its legislation.

We support Canada Post and what it is doing.

[Canada Post, September 24th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, in 2013, Canada Post delivered one billion fewer letters than it did in 2006. Two-thirds of Canadians do not receive mail at their door.

In answer to the member's question, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities overwhelmingly defeated a motion asking the government to turn over the changes at Canada Post. Maybe he should check his facts.

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, September 24th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, again I want to personally thank the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food for his great work on the file, to ensure that we are working together as a government on this matter.

We should also talk to the people out there who are the ones who are the beneficiaries of Bill C-30.

Brett Halstead, president of the Canadian Canola Growers Association stated:

This action demonstrates that Government is listening to farmers' concerns. We look forward to working with the Government and other industry stakeholders.

Quite frankly, the opposition is not in the game on this one. The government is the one that is dealing with this on a daily basis and is out front through the minister.

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, September 24th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member may have missed it, but in my opinion, this is the best agriculture minister that we have seen. He has stood up, all the time, for grain farmers. He has consistently acted to ensure that grain farmers are protected. CN has not hit its levels. We will enforce. It is in violation, and we will continue to make sure that we protect, through the Minister of Agriculture, grain farmers in Canada.

[Rail Transportation, September 23rd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to the safety and security of Canadians. We have taken many steps and many actions with respect to rail safety in the country since 2006. Most notably, we have increased the funding for safety management system audits. We have increased the number of inspectors. We ensure that the information is disclosed to the Canadian Federation of Municipalities so it understands what goods go through their communities for the purposes of response.

We will continue to work on this file, mindful of the work that the TSB has done. I look forward to working with my counterpart as well on these matters because they are of mutual concern to all of us.

[Rail Transportation, September 23rd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, we take rail safety very seriously and we do not make jokes about it on this side of the House whatsoever. It is a very serious matter.

We want to ensure that the resources are in place, that we have the inspectors in place. We have been acting on this file continuously since 2006 and we will continue to roll out measures on rail safety.

[Rail Transportation, September 23rd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member will know, this government has done a lot with respect to rail safety in the country. We have made sure to communicate with municipalities and industry on the issues.

Indeed, we are the government that has brought in more transparency when it comes to the goods being transported through communities. We issued a protective disclosure order last year to ensure that communities were being kept up to date with what was going on. We continue to facilitate the relationship between the rail, the condition of the rail and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

[Marine Transportation, September 22nd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, our government has acted very decisively when it comes to preventing oil spills. In fact, we have a world-class tanker safety program, which I announced the details of last year.

We had a panel that went out to determine where there were gaps in response, and it said very clearly that we can respond to oil spills in this country. However, we want to make it better. That is exactly why we continue to work on issues of prevention, of being able to respond, and, of course, making sure that in the event of a spill that the liability is there for polluters to pay as well.

[Rail Transportation, September 22nd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, in August of this year, I did indeed host and coordinate a meeting with the parties who are interested in this particular piece of rail. I can tell the House that there is a process in place when a rail company wants to abandon its rail, which is indeed the case in this extreme. The Nova Scotia government is working with the rail company. The federal government is not involved in this piece. It is not a federally regulated railway, nor is it something that we have an interest in taking over again.

[Rail Transportation, September 18th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, we do remember, very much, today what happened in the unfortunate accident between and OC Transpo bus and a VIA Rail train. People lost their lives, and families were forever shaken. Of course, we do remember that.

With respect to derailments in this country, our government has been working since 2006 on rail safety. We have invested hundreds of millions of dollars, and indeed, this year, specifically, we have made incredible strides forward in terms of regulation, working with industry and communities. We will continue to do exactly that.