Lisa Raitt

[Rail Transportation, February 12th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, as we all know, there are several investigations ongoing after the derailments in Lac-Mégantic. One of the investigations is the Transportation Safety Board, another is the Sûreté du Québec, and two others are Transport Canada investigations. If this company is found to have violated the rules and regulations of this country, it will absolutely be penalized to the ultimate extent of the law.

[Canada Post, February 11th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated yesterday, Canada Post has been looking at the situation and determining its best path forward. They have a five-point plan. It is their plan. It is a plan supported by the Conference Board of Canada's report as well, and it is actually supported by facts, the fact being that one billion fewer pieces of mail are being utilized and put in the system than there were in 2006. Canada Post is acting to get ahead of the problem. They are part of the solution, and we support their plan.

[Canada Post, February 11th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, if Canada Post continued on the path it was on prior to its five-point plan, it would have lost $1 billion by 2020. That is the bill the taxpayers of Canada would have to pay. While it is difficult to hear that 8,000 positions will be lost, the reality is that these will be lost through attrition. These are jobs that would not be there necessarily, as a result of people retiring or leaving the service.

[Rail Transportation, February 11th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, it is very helpful to have actual facts on the floor here as opposed to the fearmongering the opposition is taking part in. The fact is this: CN Rail has entered into a discontinuance process according to the Canadian Transportation Agency. They are in that process right now. No decisions have been taken regarding this part of the rail, and indeed, no decisions have been taken by VIA Rail on this part of the rail.

The member would serve his constituents better by telling them the truth.

[Rail Transportation, February 11th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, VIA Rail is an independent crown corporation. They make decisions based upon their operating parameters. Indeed, they do publish and they do indicate what their schedules are. I encourage the member to talk to VIA Rail regarding the issue, but as I stated before, VIA Rail is independent from us.

[Canada Post, February 10th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, since 1981 Canada Post has had a mandate to operate on a self-sustaining basis. It has recognized in the past number of years, and indeed going into the future, that it will not have enough business to remain self-sufficient. As a result, it has developed a five-point plan. Those are the points Canada Post will be implementing, and we do support these in government.

[Canada Post, February 10th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the reality is that Canadians are choosing more and more not to send mail by the traditional methods, because we are in a digital era and email, of course, is the way in which people are doing business today.

Canada Post has come up a plan to combat what they are facing in terms of the erosion of letter mail, and has put its five-point plan forward. We support it.

[Air Transportation, February 10th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I guess I should ask the Leader of the Opposition, is it a rumour that they plan implementing a $20 billion carbon tax on Canadian passengers, or is that something they are backing away from—

[Air Transportation, February 10th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the answer to that question is that we did so in 2008.

Under Flight Rights Canada, passengers have a right to information on flight times. They have a right to take the flights they paid for. They have a right to punctuality and they have a right to have their luggage given to them quickly.

We enforce these through the Canadian Transportation Agency. It is good to see that consumers know about their rights and indeed are utilizing the process they need to use in order to enforce these rights.

[Rail Transportation, February 6th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the reality is this was a subsidy that was given to a $9-billion company: Canadian National Railway. As a result, we indicated that there could be a better use for Canadian taxpayer dollars.

I will be speaking with CN regarding its decision to cut passenger service, in the coming days.