Lisa Raitt

[Air Transportation, April 30th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Toronto Port Authority is an independent organization that has many agreements with the City of Toronto for which it is held accountable and that it has to be able to fulfill, too.

It is very important that port authorities and airport authorities have good communications with their local communities. I encourage them to sit down and talk with their local council members, and as well, to talk to their council in general about how to better further economic development through the use of port assets.

[Air Transportation, April 29th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Aéroports de Montréal is operated by an association, which was set up a number of years ago to ensure that we had a market-based approach to our assets in transportation. In their ground lease they have a number of obligations to the Government of Canada and to the citizens of Canada, as well. They have been doing a great job fulfilling them.

I am very proud of the work they do in Montreal, and I appreciate the comments the member made at the beginning, because they are a good success story.

[Canada Post, April 9th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, this government is firmly behind the plan for Canada Post, the reason being that we do want to have a sustainable Canada Post and postal service going on for many years. Given that Canada Post at the current rate, and in the current scenario, will lose $1 billion a year in the future, their five-point plan makes a lot of sense. That is their way to come back to self-sustainability to ensure that they are not a burden on the taxpayer.

[Air Transportation, April 9th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, as the member has rightly pointed out, it is Aéroports de Montréal that actually runs that airport as well as the other airport in the Montreal vicinity. In doing so, it makes the best decisions it can for the local community and what is needed for the business community. I understand that its officials have had many conversations with local stakeholders as to what to do with respect to this infrastructure, and I look forward to their advice and their action on the matter.

[Canada Post, April 8th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has actually outlined what the five-point plan is from Canada Post to ensure that it can deal with the loss of revenues with the amount of letter mail not being mailed as it used to be six years ago.

What I can say is this. Two-thirds of Canadian mailboxes are community mailboxes. Only one-third currently has delivery to the door. Canada Post is converting that other third into the two-thirds. I am sure it has been able to deal with the two-thirds already and will continue to deal with the cases that are of concern in the one-third that will be phased out in the next five years.

[Employment, April 8th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the example from the member opposite. As he would know, the airport authority has its own contracts with its own contractors. That is how it apportions employment within its jurisdiction and within its facility.

Anybody who works on the air side operations or on the secure side of the airport, of course, has to pass Transport Canada qualifications and regulations in order to respond to and receive a security clearance to work on that side.

[Rail Transportation, April 8th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I will just take this opportunity to read a quote from Claude Dauphin, who is the president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. What he said is this:

The government's commitment to increase the safety of the transportation of dangerous goods, and to require shippers and railways to carry additional insurance, directly respond to calls from FCM's national rail safety working group.

We are working with the FCM. We are telling the railways that they have to provide this information to municipalities and first responders. We are getting it done.

[Rail Transportation, April 8th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the safety and security of Canadians is our top priority. What we are doing with respect to this is making sure that we can streamline and harmonize with the United States in a timely fashion instead of going through a pre-publication process. It will still be a cabinet decision as to whether or not we are going to go through a pre-publication.

I would remind the opposition as well that no government has taken more action, well before this summer, on rail safety than this one has.

[Questions on the Order Paper, April 8th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the ship-source oil pollution fund is independent and operates at arm’s length from the department. The fund has an administrator who is responsible for its management and the payment of claims for compensation.

Questions regarding any claims to or payments made from the ship-source oil pollution fund should be directed to the fund.

[Air Transportation, April 7th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question from the hon. member.

In our government, we believe in jobs, growth, and long-term prosperity. In fact, we actually invest in it as well. That is why it is troubling that the Ontario government has issued a permit for a wind turbine that would limit the operability of the airport going forward in the future.

We are talking with our counterparts on this matter and letting them know the difficulties. We do believe on this side in ensuring long-term growth and I do not understand why the Ontario government does not see the same opportunity in Peterborough.