Lisa Raitt

[Rail Transportation, March 4th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to receiving the invitation from the mayors. I am always happy to meet with stakeholders in the matter. I have a great relationship with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, and when I receive the letter, I will be responding positively.

[Rail Transportation, March 4th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, VIA Rail is responsible for its own operations and has been doing so, providing passenger service in this great country for many years.

We as a government ensure that VIA Rail has the appropriate amount of resources it needs in order to carry out its job. However, VIA has to be responsible with taxpayer dollars and ensure it is providing the highest quality of service that it can.

[Canada Post, March 3rd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, in 2012, Canada Post delivered 1 billion fewer pieces of mail than it did in 2006. It clearly has a problem with respect to dropping revenue levels. It recognized it and it developed a five-point plan. This is part of its five-point plan that it will be implementing to make sure there is not going to be a burden on the taxpayer.

[Rail Transportation, March 3rd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, as we know, VIA Rail is responsible for its own operational decisions. Regardless, there is one truism here. Our government does support a passenger rail network, but that passenger rail network has to meet the needs of today's travellers as well as be fair and not burden the taxpayer. We expect VIA Rail to operate in that manner. Indeed, that is exactly what it is doing.

We are concerned that it does continue to post significant losses regardless of how much money we are putting into the system.

[Canada Post, February 27th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, in 2012, Canada Post delivered one billion fewer letters than it did in 2006. We also know that currently two-thirds of Canadian households do not receive mail at their door. We also know that Canada Post has a responsibility to be self-sufficient and not be a burden upon the taxpayer. This is what this plan would do.

[Canada Post, February 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the reality is that there is a lack of demand at Canada Post. It has had a responsibility since 1981 to be self-sufficient. We know that in the coming years, given the fact that the reduction in mail volume is 25%, it could see a deficit of $1 billion coming. That is serious for Canadian taxpayers. That is why Canada Post is taking action. Its five-point plan, once implemented, would see it self-sufficient again in 2019.

[Canada Post, February 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the reality is something that they do not want to face, and it is this: already in two-thirds of Canadian households, the mail is not delivered to the door. Over the next five years, Canada Post plans to phase it out in the other one-third of Canadian households.

Why is it doing that? It is because of something the NDP does not understand. We are trying to make sure the taxpayer is not burdened in the future.

[Canada Post, February 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, let us get one thing straight. We are not stopping the delivery of mail in general. What is happening is that we are converting, or rather, Canada Post is converting one-third—

[Canada Post, February 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, Canada Post is facing, in the future, an incredible loss in its revenue as a result of the mail not being utilized as much. People are making their choices, but in order to deal with that, it has put out a five-point plan. One of the points in its plan is that door-to-door service be phased out for the remaining one-third of mail boxes or mail deliveries in Canada. That has been in place for two-thirds of Canadian addresses since the 1980s.

It has dealt with these matters in the past. I am sure it will continue to deal with these matters in the future.

[Health, February 25th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, absolutely not. The Port of Quebec is an arm's-length organization that is responsible for its own decisions. As well, in exercising those decisions, it has to do so with the concerns of the local citizens in mind.

I encourage the Port of Quebec and the Quebec government to work together to ensure that the citizens are protected in the way that they should be, and also to deal with dust emissions in the appropriate manner, as supervised by the environmental people in Quebec.