Transport committee  If I may say so, I believe in training, training, training, and hands-on practice in real situations. I'll just relate quickly that a railway tried to run its locomotives without people in the cab, which is a bit like having a simulator simulating a flight. It didn't work out because there was too much in the way of wind, animals crossing the track, and unexpected rain bursts; and the situation wasn't dealt with adequately by the machine.

Transport committee  Perhaps the other gentlemen could comment.

Transport committee  Mr. Iacono, I would say it is investment, be it investment in training and professional practice for pilots, in inspections, in the updating of navigation and landing systems or in secondary airports. Major airports, like those in Ottawa and Toronto, don't seem to be having any problems.

Transport committee  That would be the particular concern, I think. We can go back to reports on historic crack-downs such as the Moshansky report. I think that was on Dryden, where a plane went into the bush. But currently I think the issue is more of the potential of trouble, and it may relate in part to the lack of flying time and experience and boots on the ground inspections by Transport Canada inspectors.

Transport committee  Thank you very much. This is a question of potential trouble, as has been stated. Air traffic is increasing. The number of landings and takeoffs is increasing. The number of overshoots can go up just arithmetically without there being an increased danger. But I think the real concern now these days is the attempt to economize within Transport Canada in its oversight practices and the mechanical aspects and so on.

Transport committee  Absolutely. I spent several months helping the Institute for Research on Public Policy, here in Ottawa, carry out a study on the Lac-Mégantic accident. I do understand that this accident had to do with another sector—rail transportation. The principal investigator, Bruce Campbell, concluded that the existence of SMS is good, but that boots on the ground are also needed.

Transport committee  I think we could say that in the ground sector, where I have done more recent work, that the Lac-Mégantic disaster was in part an example of the kind of thing you're talking about. SMS reports were filed. They were checked by auditors. Sometimes they went back and told people to pull up their socks at the Montreal Maine and Atlantic, and this was sometimes done and sometimes not.

Transport committee  Well, there are many, and some of them are not in the safety area. In the area of safety, there is the question of the right to have food and water during lengthy delays at airports, sitting on the tarmac waiting to either go back to the airport or to go somewhere. There's the question of the vital space allowed to passengers, and there is some controversy in Canada and overseas over deep vein thrombosis.

Transport committee  It's over?

Transport committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair and honourable members of the committee. Transport Action Canada, founded in 1976, is a non-profit national organization promoting the rights and interests of passengers—air, rail, bus, transit—and advocating for the use of public transit. It's a registered charity.