Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the intervention by my colleague, who, as chair of the transport committee, will remember that we had an important hearing on this matter. Not only did Canada Post appear there in order to defend its five-point plan, but we also heard from witnesses, including the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, which the opposition says commissioned a study on postal banking.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, we had an important hearing before Christmas on this particular matter. Every single witness who was there agreed that Canada Post has a significant structural problem, that business as usual cannot continue at Canada Post, and that this is part of a global phenomenon.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I first would point out that Canada Post is run by a CEO and a board of directors who make strategic decisions on a day-to-day basis as to how it will operate and what its business decisions are on a go-forward basis. That is why it has a five-point plan. Members do not have to take my word for it.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, Canadians are speaking very loudly through their choices. If we look at banking, Canadians are increasingly moving away from old branch infrastructure. They are moving to online banking, whether on their desktop or by using new apps created for their smart phone in order to do that kind of banking.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, during some of the years when there was postal banking in Canada, Canada Post was turning massive deficits. In the example of New Zealand, the Kiwibank has actually cannibalized postal service because of the enormous demands to capitalize the bank and it came out of the postal service.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, in the interests of full disclosure, I have received three electronic petition responses and one email response. None of them, I note, was by individual stamped letter mail, by the way, which is the trend that is the problem at Canada Post. I have spoken with many seniors, and they recognize that there is a deep fundamental structural problem at Canada Post and that business cannot continue as usual.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak to the motion calling on the House to oppose Canada Post's plan to realign mail delivery and the pricing of its postal services. The fundamental issue in this debate is the threat to Canada Post's long-term financial viability, the serious risks this situation poses for taxpayers moving forward, and the urgent need for immediate action.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, leave it to the member to have a Blockbuster Video mentality in a Netflix world. On the subject of postal banking, the opposition's position is not very well thought out or supported by relevant global examples. Perhaps the member opposite could actually answer the question that her party's critic could not answer this morning.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I will make note that the member did not mention that the CFIB and its members did support the elimination of door-to-door delivery in all of Canada, and they said so at the hearing. It is far easier to criticize a plan that somebody else has decided on. It is far tougher to wade through the complex issues and make the complex decisions and the sometimes tough decisions that result from complex problems.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I have a report which notes that declining letter volume has accelerated since 2008, mail loss is increasing, and the pension deficit worsened. That is not from a Conference Board report, that is from an update on the Hooper report in the U.K. We have what witnesses at committee agreed was a structural problem.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I listened to the member with some interest here. If they want to look at what international examples there are, since the member raised a few, they will see that in the EU they are fully competitive and have no postal monopoly. Many are privatized. Many slashed their workforces by up to 40%, and they have expanded franchise counters significantly.

Rail Transportation  Mr. Speaker, in fact, the health and safety of Canadians is our top priority. We obviously thank the Auditor General for his report and his recommendations. I understand that Transport Canada has accepted all of the recommendations in the report. Not only that, the minister has tasked the standing committee on transport to study the transportation of dangerous goods to ensure that they are moved safely, including the implementation of safety management systems across air, marine, and rail sectors.

Rail Transportation  Mr. Speaker, positive train control, which has been talked about a lot by New Democrats, in fact is not part of the TSB's recommendations, though Transport Canada is monitoring its implementation in the United States. Transport Canada is currently working with industry to look at possible fail-safe train controls here.

Rail Transportation  Quite on the contrary, Mr. Speaker, this government has taken a number of important actions with respect to rail safety: made significant investment in the rail safety system with an emergency directive and two protective directions and information sharing with the municipalities.

Rail Transportation  Mr. Speaker, the member is suggesting that he knows the causes of the tragedy in Lac-Mégantic. Independent investigators are still continuing their investigation. We will let them continue with that independent investigation, and Transport Canada will not hesitate to act on any recommendations.