House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2021, with 54% of the vote.
Public Safety February 18th, 2020
Mr. Speaker, indeed I am concerned by the fact that some people are going near rail lines, on rail lines or in rail yards and doing things that are potentially dangerous. In addition, we have had some indication of tampering on the rail lines, which is not only dangerous but criminal activity and can affect not only those people but those who might be affected by it.
We are trying to pursue this to find out where it comes from, and I would urge Canadians to be safe near railroads.
Rail Transportation February 6th, 2020
Mr. Speaker, we are indeed very concerned about the derailment that occurred just outside of Guernsey, Saskatchewan this morning.
That is why I put in place a ministerial order that is going to reduce the speed of trains carrying dangerous goods for the next 30 days, as we examine why these derailments are happening. As members know, this is the second derailment in the area in the last two months.
Resumption of debate on Address in Reply January 27th, 2020
Mr. Speaker, my colleague mentioned that between 2006 and 2008, Conservatives paid down some of the debt, and that is true. The reason they were able to do so was that massive surpluses were given to them as a result of the responsible government that preceded them under Prime Minister Martin.
Nevertheless, between 2006 and when the Conservatives finally lost in 2015, they managed to grow the debt by $150 billion in that period of time. Could my colleague please tell us how that jibes with the fact that the Conservatives say they are horrified by the idea of any debt?
Questions on the Order Paper January 27th, 2020
Mr. Speaker, with regard to part (a), the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, TSB, is the independent agency that collects and analyzes data related to railway incidents in Canada and investigates the cause and factors contributing to their occurrence. As such, they are the appropriate authority to respond to this question.
With regard to part (b), as the authority responsible for collecting data on railway incidents in Canada, the TSB, is the appropriate party to respond to this question.
With regard to part (c), a number of specific measures have been implemented since November 4, 2015, which are aimed at preventing railway incidents resulting from employee fatigue. One is safety management system regulations. New regulations prescribing the implementation of a safety management system were published in 2015. They included specific requirements for railways to follow in terms of scheduling shifts based on the principles of fatigue science.
Another is a notice of intent, or NOI. In November 2017, Transport Canada, TC, published an NOI that described a fatigue strategy. The strategy included a review of fatigue risk management systems, FRMS, and research into key positions in the rail industry and their sensitivity to fatigue. The NOI also stated TC’s intention to initiate amendments to the Work/Rest Rules for Railway Operating Employees, or WRR, and the Railway Safety Management System Regulations, 2015, and, if necessary, to pursue the development of new regulations to address fatigue in the rail industry.
Another measure was a Fatigue in Transportation forum. A Fatigue in Transportation symposium was held in Montreal in the summer of 2018. The forum, which brought together over 200 participants, included speakers from academia, government and the transportation industry to build knowledge and promote increased awareness of fatigue in the transportation sector.
Another measure was updated work/rest rules. The Minister of Transport issued a ministerial order in December 2018 that required industry to update the existing work/rest rules to reflect the latest principles in fatigue science. This includes revisions to maximum duty lengths, minimum rest periods, advance notice of schedules, maximum cumulative duty times and the development of fatigue management plans. Transport Canada received a revised proposed working draft of these rules on December 16, 2019, and the industry must conduct a consultation with its unions. Submission by industry of a new proposal is expected for consideration and approval in early 2020.
With regard to part (d), conductors and locomotive engineers who operate in freight service/yard service are subject to the provisions of the current work/rest rules. These rules do not contain a minimum turnaround time or mandated time off duty between shifts unless the employee has worked more than 10 hours. If the employee has worked in excess of 10 hours and is away from the home terminal, the employee must have six hours off duty. If they are at the home terminal, they must have eight hours off duty. Usually employees who are on regularly scheduled assignments, yard service, do not receive calls for work.
Railway yard workers are also subject to these provisions but are often assigned a regular schedule, obviating the need for a minimum turnaround time.
Other railway workers, which is interpreted to mean non-operating employees, are subject to part III of the Canada Labour Code, and their collective agreements where applicable. Under section.169.2 (1) of part III of the Canada Labour Code, employees are eligible for a minimum rest period of at least eight consecutive hours between work periods or shifts.
Natural Resources December 12th, 2019
Mr. Speaker, I want to assure my colleague that under the new Impact Assessment Act we will do our homework. We oversee fair and thorough environmental assessments that are grounded in science, evidence and indigenous traditional knowledge.
This is a major project. We are very conscious of what our government will need to decide on in the next year or so in the context of a range of factors.
Intergovernmental Relations December 12th, 2019
Mr. Speaker, there are 35 of us who are here for Quebec. We will work for Quebec's interests. All I can say is that I hope the opposition will work with us for the interests of Quebec and Canada.
Intergovernmental Relations December 12th, 2019
Mr. Speaker, there were no backroom discussions leading up to the throne speech. As we know, the throne speech is a document that outlines the broad themes the government plans to address. The details will come, projects will be announced, and the opposition can judge us at that point.
The Environment December 12th, 2019
Mr. Speaker, we are working constructively with all Canadian provinces. Transportation issues connected to the environment may have both federal and provincial components. This is the case, for example, with the Lac-Mégantic bypass. BAPE conducted a study and made recommendations, and we respect these recommendations from the province of Quebec.
Supplementary Estimates (A), 2019-20 December 9th, 2019
Madam Chair, airports in this country, whether they are small and in remote regions or large and in some of our urban centres, are engines of our economy in a very significant way.
Canada is the second-largest country on earth. In order for Canadians to travel across the country and go to foreign destinations, because we are a trading nation, which requires us to visit other countries, our airports play an absolutely essential role.
The statistics indicate that flying is continuing to increase in our country, so we have to have airports that are safe, secure, efficient and well served by the different airlines. That can sometimes be a bit of a challenge. Canadians would like to be able to go to their local airport and sometimes go to destinations that are not possible to go to directly. Those are obviously some of the things we have to deal with.
Some people have said that when they go to airports it takes too long to go through security. That is another area we are trying to address: the challenge of making it a smoother experience. There are still things we need to do to improve that situation.
Sometimes we would like our airports to be transportation hubs so when people come out of the airport, particularly in large cities, they can access other modes of transportation to get downtown and the like.
There are a lot of things we can do. However, the fact is more Canadians are flying and it is important to have safe, modern airports in this country that cater to those requirements.
Supplementary Estimates (A), 2019-20 December 9th, 2019
Madam Chair, Transport Canada is doing its job. This summer, we carried out inspections between Farnham and Lac-Mégantic. That is the rail line my colleague is talking about. We inspected the repairs that were done. Other inspections will take place in the coming year. We are doing our work to make sure transportation of dangerous goods is safe.