House of Commons photoLost her last election, in 2019, with 36% of the vote.
Health October 24th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, it is the responsibility of the Port of Quebec officials to balance the need to create jobs and have economic prosperity in the region with the needs of the community and protecting health and safety. I would expect that the Port of Quebec officials will listen to their local community on these concerns.
Health October 23rd, 2013
Mr. Speaker, the Port of Quebec officials are the ones responsible for balancing the economic inputs and effects they have in the Quebec area to create jobs, as well as the health and safety of the residents in the area. I expect that the port authority will take the concerns of the community into consideration as it continues to make decisions.
Rail Transportation October 21st, 2013
Mr. Speaker, I have met with municipal leaders across the country this past summer.
We have developed a good, close working relationship with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. The president and CEO actually said that the FCM applauds the federal government's response to the tragedy in Lac-Mégantic and to the rail safety recommendations that emerged from it.
We will continue to work on these matters with our stakeholders and our partners.
Rail Transportation October 21st, 2013
Mr. Speaker, the health and safety of Canadians is the top priority for our government. Indeed, that comes through, because most recently, Claude Dauphin, who is the president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, said:
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.
Simply put, we are getting the job done.
Rail Transportation October 21st, 2013
Mr. Speaker, our government has acted very aggressively with respect to rail safety. We have hired more security. We have invested $100 million in rail safety in this country. Even with all of that, it makes sense for us to work with shippers and to work with the rail industry and municipalities to determine where we can do better, and that is exactly what we are doing.
I would caution the members, too. Both this weekend's event and the event that happened in Lac-Mégantic need to be followed up and investigated by proper authorities, and we will wait for the recommendations.
Rail Transportation October 21st, 2013
Mr. Speaker, we were very relieved this weekend to learn that there were no injuries involved in this incident. First responders are working with CN and the community in order to ensure that they are giving the best support they can to the incident.
With respect to the specific question, I am puzzled, because our government issued emergency directives this summer, actually, and most recently issued a protective disclosure, as well, with respect to issues brought forth by the Transportation Safety Board. We will continue to work with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities on the information they say they need.
Safeguarding Canada's Seas and Skies Act October 21st, 2013
Mr. Speaker, our government has acted decisively. We have put more money into a national aerial surveillance program to keep that eye on ships as they move along both of our coasts. We have also increased the number of inspections of foreign vessels.
To the point that the hon. member made, of course we always make sure that we are marking the lanes of shipping appropriately, and we have invested more money through the Coast Guard into that as well.
Safeguarding Canada's Seas and Skies Act October 21st, 2013
Mr. Speaker, Canada has a good reputation internationally with respect to how we respond and how we deal with the prevention of spills and environmental damage from ships. We are a strong participant in the IMO too. Our officials at Transport Canada work with its counterparts around the world to adhere to and develop international standards that can be applied here in Canada as well.
It is important to note too that in this country we have not had a serious oil spill off the coast of British Columbia in 30 years. That is why this is a good opportunity to take a serious look at what the gaps may be in our current system. That is exactly what this world-class tanker safety review panel is doing. We look forward to seeing the results coming forward, as I know our international partners are as well.
Safeguarding Canada's Seas and Skies Act October 21st, 2013
Mr. Speaker, I will admit to the member that while I do not know the definition of the waterways that are covered in the Marine Liabilities Act right off the top of my head, I would be happy to look into it.
However, for navigable waters and waters that need to be protected, the spirit of the Marine Liabilities Act and the spirit of what we are doing in terms of liability and compensation is to ensure and enshrine the principle that the polluter pays. We want to ensure that we protect the waters as well as the people who utilize the waters and come up with the appropriate liability and compensation scheme.
As I have indicated, this is the first step, and through consultation we will be having more discussions as we move along, just as we did with the member opposite.
Safeguarding Canada's Seas and Skies Act October 21st, 2013
Mr. Speaker, the member has a full list of questions. I cannot get into specific details, but would be happy to talk to him later about it outside of the House.
What I can answer is this. The purpose of the amendments in the Marine Liability Act is to help fill a critical gap we now have from an international convention point of view that deals specifically with hazardous and noxious emissions from ships. All the issues the member brought up are important ones and we view this as a first step in dealing with and approaching what kind of liability gaps there may be in the Marine Liability Act, but it is always fundamentally on the same premise, which is the polluter will pay.
We are talking to stakeholders and municipal partners to determine what a good, strong, comprehensive liability scheme will look like and we will be introducing regulations and amendments that make sense to the overall scheme of what we are trying to accomplish, which is to ensure we have a world-class tanker safety regime in place.