Omar Alghabra

[Questions on the Order Paper, January 30th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, in response to part (a), Transport Canada will continue to work with all stakeholders involved, including the Government of Quebec, the municipalities, and the Canadian Pacific Railway, toward the rapid completion of the Lac-Mégantic bypass. The project is being undertaken with consideration of the community and seeks to maintain broad social acceptability.

Canadian Pacific, with the support of Transport Canada, is currently completing the application to the Canadian Transportation Agency to secure regulatory approval. Concurrently, Transport Canada is working with Public Services and Procurement Canada to complete the land acquisition required for the project. Finally, Transport Canada and Canadian Pacific are currently negotiating the construction contribution agreement for the project. These steps must be completed before construction of the rail bypass can commence.

Prior to construction, Canadian Pacific will launch a request for proposals, which will be undertaken for four months.

Once regulatory approvals have been secured and all necessary lands acquired and transferred to Canadian Pacific, construction will begin and is anticipated to take approximately 36 months to complete.

Following the commissioning of the bypass, the existing track will be dismantled, which is expected to take 12-18 months.

These times were publicly shared with the community during the June 2022 information session and the November 2022 public consultation.

In response to part (b), on May 11, 2018, the Government of Canada announced that the construction costs of the Lac-Mégantic rail bypass were estimated at $133 million.

As part of the 2022 federal budget, $237.2 million was allocated to Transport Canada over five years for the construction of the Lac-Mégantic rail bypass, the dismantling of the existing track and the implementation of environmental measures.

On December 20, 2022, the Prime Minister and the Quebec premier agreed that, in the context of high inflation and other factors, both governments would increase their funding for infrastructure projects, including the Lac-Mégantic rail bypass, all in the same ratios as initially announced.

Total project costs are not available at this time. Transport Canada is currently negotiating the construction contribution agreement with Canadian Pacific, which will include an updated project budget.

In response to part (c), the Government of Canada confirmed on May 11, 2018, that it would fund 60% of the construction costs of the Lac-Mégantic bypass, estimated at $133 million at the time. The Government of Quebec has confirmed that it will fund 40% of this amount.

As part of the 2022 federal budget, $237.2 million was allocated to Transport Canada over five years, starting in 2022–23, for the construction of the Lac-Mégantic bypass, the dismantling of the existing track and the implementation of environmental measures.

The Prime Minister and the Premier of Quebec met on December 20, 2022, and agreed that both governments would increase their funding for the construction of the Lac-Mégantic rail bypass, all in the same ratios as initially announced. The funding agreement will need to be finalized with the Government of Quebec. There are no other sources of funding for this project.

In response to part (d), Transport Canada undertook an extensive preliminary search in order to determine the amount of information that would fall within the scope of the question and the amount of time that would be required to prepare a comprehensive response. Transport Canada concluded that producing and validating a comprehensive response to this question is not possible in the time allotted and could lead to the disclosure of incomplete and misleading information.

[Air Transportation, January 30th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to protecting passengers' rights. In fact, our government was the first government in Canada's history to pass a bill in this chamber to support passengers' rights.

Of course, the last couple of years have been very difficult on the aviation sector because of the pandemic and because of the public health situation. We are working with the Canadian Transportation Agency to provide the resources they need. The chair of the Canadian Transportation Agency was at committee, where the hon. member got the chance to ask his questions.

[Airline Industry, December 5th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague for his leadership and advocacy. Over the last couple of years, the air sector has suffered a lot. Its workers and its customers have gone through an extraordinary period of time.

Last week, I hosted a summit that invited more than 50 leaders of the industry, including CEOs of airlines and airports. We agreed we needed to work together on lessons learned from the last couple of years. We agreed to focus on how we could improve efficiency, transparency and accountability.

We are committed to improving the air sector. We want to make sure Canadians have a competitive, safe and efficient sector so they can travel with great experience.

[Diversity and Inclusion, December 1st, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, the member is misleading the House. I did not meet with the individual. Let me be very clear that as members of Parliament, we attend events everywhere, we are accessible to our community members and there is always a risk of us meeting unsavoury individuals. The issue here is how we, as MPs, react to this.

I want to make sure that I am clear. I condemn anti-Semitism. I will always condemn anti-Semitism. Will the members of the opposite side do the same when they encounter people who are spreading hate and anti-Semitism across Canada?

[Diversity and Inclusion, December 1st, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, anti-Semitism is real and all of us must condemn it whenever we see it. This individual should not have been invited to this event. He should not have been welcomed to this event. That event was hosted by MPs from all parties. I am always happy to participate in parliamentary events, but we all should condemn anti-Semitism and all forms of hate wherever we see it.

[Air Transportation, November 29th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, safety in the aviation sector is our number one priority. The government and I are working with Transport Canada, with our stakeholders and with all airline operators to make sure we maintain the highest level of safety in Canada and around the world. I am willing to work with my colleague and other members of the House to ensure that we maintain the highest level in our standards of safety.

[Marine Transportation, November 28th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for Surrey—Newton for his leadership and advocacy on behalf of his community.

Ten days ago, I joined my colleagues in B.C., including the Minister of Natural Resources and the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, to announce $1.2 billion for the next phase of the renewed oceans protection plan, which includes 29 new initiatives that will strengthen marine safety.

Our government continues to be committed to meaningful work with indigenous peoples and coastal communities so that we can ensure our oceans remain safe for all.

[Marine Transportation, November 24th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, over the last couple of years, we have seen global supply disruptions that have impacted our supply chains at home. Because of that, we have seen congestion at airports and an increased number of vessels anchored next to our coast.

I have been listening to constituents on the coast, particularly where the hon. colleague is raising the point. I want to assure her that we are putting together an action plan to address this. We tabled Bill C-33 just two weeks ago. It will introduce new tools to help mitigate the traffic of the vessels. We will work with her and constituents to make sure that we manage this adequately.

[Marine Transportation, November 17th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his advocacy.

Ports are important to keeping our supply chain moving, and I am happy to share with the House that yesterday I announced a nearly $75-million investment to increase capacity and reduce congestion at the port of Prince Rupert. Also, this morning, we tabled a new bill entitled “strengthening the port system and railway safety in Canada act”. This bill would create a stronger, more competitive supply chain.

Our government is taking action to ease pressure on our supply chain, which is great news for Canadians and Canadian businesses.

[Transportation, November 17th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are out of touch. They are out of touch with what is happening in the global economy. They are out of touch with what is happening here at home. They are out of touch with what is happening with climate change.

Our government, however, is focused on helping Canadians, on helping Canadian businesses and on helping truck drivers. We remain focused on doing the right thing to support our economy and to support Canadians during this difficult and challenging time.