Transport committee  The bill relates to all 24 international crossings. We've been very careful in the wording so that what we've put in the bill is applied fairly to everybody. Our intention with this particular clause is that if you are going to construct, twin, or alter a bridge, you would then need Governor in Council approval.

Transport committee  That's an excellent point, and we are concerned about it. This came to our attention in the Niagara area where the Peace Bridge and the Niagara Falls bridge both had construction plans. The two of them, because they work so well together, have staggered their construction so that the whole frontier is not under construction at one time.

Transport committee  I think it's actually more than that, and I'll use an example. Quite recently the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge in Niagara Falls added a fifth lane on their bridge. Obviously going from four lanes to five lanes would add capacity. Through this bill we would check the safety of this to make sure that by adding more capacity the lanes are not too narrow and causing safety problems and that the traffic leaving the highway and going onto this five-lane bridge is actually safe and secure.

Transport committee  I think the intention of this bill is to make sure there is free-flowing traffic across the border and to make sure this is done in a safe and efficient manner. So any time somebody submitted an application to us, whether to add more lanes on the bridge or to alter the bridge or tunnel, we would be looking at the traffic flow, the safety and security matters.

Transport committee  The U.S. federal government requires a presidential permit for the construction or alterations, but after the major construction or alteration, then it's the state.

Transport committee  As Evelyn Marcoux was saying earlier, the Americans have a presidential permit process, and the U.S. federal government steps in when a bridge is going to be constructed or if there are major alterations on the bridge. After that, they delegate that authority to the local states, and it's up to the local states then to be concerned about traffic flow and the efficiency.

Transport committee  Two of the vehicular bridges, the rail bridges.

Transport committee  The provinces understand that international bridges are federal jurisdiction. They have expressed...I wouldn't say a concern, but curiosity as to what would be in the regulations. They have asked about cost, and if the federal government would be imposing something on them that would cost money--

Transport committee  A lot of the details you're asking for will come out of the regulations. We have not developed the regulations. We will be consulting with all kinds of stakeholders in developing the regulations. What we have in mind is that when an owner or an operator of an international bridge has the intention of selling, they would notify us that they're selling it and they would tell us before the sale who they would be selling to.

Transport committee  The consultations we've had so far with the provinces have been on questions like coordination. They see it the same way we do, that if an international bridge is going to be restricted for alterations or construction, they want to make sure that industry knows that. So I think most of them have been very supportive of that provision.

Transport committee  --who would implement it. I think they have been reassured when we've explained to them that our intention is not to impose some federal standard on them but in fact we would be using their standards. All provinces have engineering safety standards. So what we would do is, if we were looking at a bridge in New Brunswick, we would say, “Does this bridge meet the New Brunswick engineering safety requirements?”

Transport committee  This is actually the first time that anybody has raised this question with us. Not only have we consulted with the people I mentioned before, but we have consulted and dealt with the provincial governments in New Brunswick, Quebec, and Ontario. Until this morning, nobody has actually suggested that we talk to local elected officials.

Transport committee  I guess it's a little unclear to me what those consultations would consist of. This bill gives the federal government an oversight role on these bridges. When we're talking about things like safety, security, and operations, the individual bridge owners and operators would be sending documentation to us.

Transport committee  If I can, I'll answer that. There have been extensive consultations. When we introduced Bill C-44, we had a series of consultations. A lot of the large Ontario-U.S. bridges are members of the Bridge and Tunnel Operators Association, and on numerous occasions we briefed them as a group.

Transport committee  Our consultations have been with the owners and operators of the facilities.