Mr. Chair, does the minister agree that Canada needs a national public transit strategy?
House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2015, with 31% of the vote.
Business of Supply May 7th, 2014
Mr. Chair, does the minister agree that Canada needs a national public transit strategy?
Business of Supply May 7th, 2014
Mr. Chair, does the minister believe that she has the responsibility to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Canada's transportation sector? What is her responsibility to encourage public transit to that end?
Business of Supply May 7th, 2014
Mr. Chair, if she cannot explain the accident rates, that is cold comfort to Canadians who are worried about rail safety in this country. The minister's response, if I can paraphrase, which is that it is for a whole bunch of reasons, is hardly satisfactory for a minister who places safety, purportedly, as her top priority.
Back to the port authorities. Is it the opinion of the minister that port authorities should follow provincial environmental laws and respect municipal visions and the right to be adequately consulted?
Business of Supply May 7th, 2014
Mr. Chair, there have been 257 of these accidents in Canada over the last 10 years.
Can the minister explain to us why the accident rate between passenger trains and vehicles has not been reduced under her government?
Business of Supply May 7th, 2014
Let me clarify, Mr. Chair. We are asking how many donated before the appointment, not while they were appointed. We know that there are at least three members of the board of directors of the Toronto Port Authority who had donated to the Conservative Party in advance of their appointments.
How many accidents involving passenger trains colliding with vehicles at level crossings have occurred over the past 10 years, as documented by the Transportation Safety Board?
Business of Supply May 7th, 2014
Or Québec solidaire, Mr. Chair.
Business of Supply May 7th, 2014
Mr. Chair, I do not think that was an answer to the question about whether the minister herself has ever appointed a Conservative donor to a Canadian port authority in her tenure.
Let me ask this. How many of the directors on the board of the Toronto Port Authority are Conservative donors? I think the answer is at least three.
Business of Supply May 7th, 2014
Mr. Chair, I wonder what that vetting process is and how serious it is, because the number of Conservative Party donors sitting on these boards is perhaps too high for the minister to count.
Has the minister herself ever recommended Conservative donors for appointments to Canadian port authorities in her tenure as the transport minister?
Business of Supply May 7th, 2014
Mr. Chair, I could not hear the minister's response over the cheering behind her.
The question remains why the federal government would let the Toronto Port Authority run roughshod over the work of Waterfront Toronto that the minister seems to be applauding.
On the issue of port authorities, is the minister aware how many Conservative donors have been given lucrative appointments on the boards of directors of port authorities across this country?
Business of Supply May 7th, 2014
Mr. Chair, those responses to the last two questions seem contradictory.
In the first one, the minister said that there should be meaningful consultation. The second one was a reversion to the rights of the port authority to do what it wants. I am not sure how she reconciles those or what exactly the answer is as to why the Toronto Port Authority is proceeding the way it is in Toronto.
Let me ask this. Does the minister believe that the federal government should respect the City of Toronto's right to implement its vision for its waterfront to allow Waterfront Toronto to get under its mandate and get on with its good work, including ways to manage effects such as noise, traffic, and land use impacts?