Hon. Omar Alghabra, P.C., M.P., Minister of Transport: Thank you, senator, for your welcome and for your question.

I’ve been working with my colleague from the Bloc Québécois, M.P. Jean-Denis Garon, on this file. We have been hearing the concerns of the community and their desire to move forward. Transport Canada, myself and my team have been working on this issue, and I am hoping that we’ll find a path forward very soon.

Hon. Colin Deacon: Welcome, minister, to the Senate. The issue of bilge water dumping continues to threaten Canada’s waterways and coastal ecosystems. Last year, a Nova Scotia-based manufacturer of bilge water filtration systems conducted an independent assessment of bilge water contamination of 44 fishing boats in 12 harbours. The results showed that bilge water contamination levels averaged 1,364 parts per million, which is 91 times the 15-parts-per-million threshold of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, or MARPOL. Canada has been a MARPOL signatory since it came into force in 1983.

Seven weeks ago, together with some other Senate colleagues, we sent a letter to you as the lead minister for the MARPOL convention implementation, asking you to commit to strengthen compliance for bilge water dumping and incentivize the installation of effective bilge water filtration systems. When can we expect to see you take action on this issue?

Hon. Omar Alghabra, P.C., M.P., Minister of Transport: Thank you very much, senator.

Our government is committed to protecting the health and safety of Canadians and the environment. Transport Canada is working with the shipping industry, Canadian ports and other departments to monitor the impact of marine shipping and its subsequent discharge, including those from oily bilge water.

I want to give you an example, senator. We reached an agreement earlier this year with the cruise industry to ensure that they limit their waste water dumping into Canadian waters. We’re making progress. I know there is more work to be done about the type of vessels you’re referring to, however, and we are committed to doing it.

Hon. Paula Simons: Today, the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry released our Treading Water report, which is an analysis of the impact of the 2020-21 floods in central British Columbia. I don’t need to tell you that those floods wiped out roads and rail; left British Columbia disconnected from the Port of Vancouver; and left Alberta, my home province, without any way to get goods in or out.

One of the calls for action in our report is a response from your ministry regarding some of the issues raised in the report. I’m wondering what you can tell us about efforts that have been made to ensure that roads and rail in British Columbia are not going to be subject to the same disastrous consequences as suffered last November.

Hon. Omar Alghabra, P.C., M.P., Minister of Transport: Thank you, senator. The short answer to your question is yes. I’ll expand on that.

The issue of infrastructure deficit has been talked about in Canada as long as I’ve been involved in politics, and that’s almost 16 years. Our government has made a historic investment in infrastructure for over $120 billion, and that includes $5 billion that is set aside particularly for a national trade corridor. Let me also clarify that the broader investment fund can and has been supporting infrastructure funds that facilitate further trade.

Indeed, this is something that we’re seized with. This is something that we are reminded of during the pandemic disruption, during climate change and during extreme weather events. We are committed to being informed by the various initiatives that the government is working on and cooperating together to ensure that we not only build more but build better.

[Translation]

Hon. Jean-Guy Dagenais: Minister, when Canadians try to renew their NEXUS card, they find out that all 13 Canadian offices have been closed for more than two years. Worse still, the Government of Canada website is suggesting that people go to the United States for a simple card renewal. This has resulted in a backlog of 350,000 NEXUS card applications waiting to be processed, which is unacceptable. The same goes for passport applications, immigration cases and airport delays.

Can you provide a frank explanation of the nature of the problem and tell us why it has dragged on since the pandemic measures were brought in? Does renewing the NEXUS program require a meeting between the U.S. President and the Prime Minister? It’s unacceptable that offices are open for the Americans while everything is closed for Canadians.

[English]

Hon. Omar Alghabra, P.C., M.P., Minister of Transport: Thank you for that question, senator. This issue is extremely important for Canadians.

The first period during the pandemic, those offices were closed according to public health measures. It is frustrating that Canadian offices have not reopened yet. However, the reason they have not reopened yet is because the United States has not sent back U.S. officials to be part of the operations. We are in discussions with our friends in the U.S. about reopening them as quickly as possible. My colleague Minister Mendicino and I have engaged our counterparts, either the Secretary of Homeland Security or the Secretary of Transportation, on many occasions. We’ve made some progress. The U.S. has now agreed to work with us on automatically renewing expired cards. While we are sorting out the return of U.S. officials, we’re looking at new and other innovative ways to address this issue in the interim. This issue is extremely important to us.

[Translation]

Hon. David M. Wells: Mr. Alghabra, on April 5 — almost eight months ago — Pivot Airlines crew on a layover in the Dominican Republic discovered and reported contraband to the RCMP and the Dominican police while preparing for a flight from the Dominican Republic to Canada. The crew was imprisoned, threatened and abused before being released on bail under the condition they remain in the country. The crew has not been charged or interviewed about the crime that they reported.

Transport Canada — your ministry — has in its possession video evidence that shows the direct involvement of unrelated third parties placing the contraband on the aircraft. This shows that the Canadian flight crews who travel to and from the Dominican Republic are clearly at risk. Canadian labour unions — Air Line Pilots Association, or ALPA, as well as CUPE and Unifor — have already advised their 70,000 airline members to exercise extreme caution when travelling to the Dominican Republic.

The Dominican Republic — and Canadian authorities by their inaction — are sending a clear message to all Canadian air crews operating flights to the Dominican Republic: Don’t look for contraband, and if you see it, don’t report it — just leave. If you report as the rules require, you will be detained indefinitely without charge — even when there’s clear video evidence showing your innocence.

Minister, with this evidence, what is your department, and the federal government, doing that will bring this crew — these Canadians — back home? Will Canada reconsider its bilateral agreement, that allows commercial flights between the Dominican Republic and Canada, pending the release of this crew?

Hon. Omar Alghabra, P.C., M.P., Minister of Transport: Senator, I’m grateful to you for bringing this point up, because this is an extremely urgent matter. I’ve been following this issue since it started. I met with the CEO of Pivot Airlines. I have met with the Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to Canada to register my concerns.

I agree with you. If this issue is not dealt with in due process and fairness, it sends a strong message — not only to Canada but to the world — that the Dominican Republic has questionable practices and it might not be safe for other crews to land in the Dominican Republic.

I want to assure you, all the families of those individuals and all the unions and companies that are concerned that this is a priority for us. The Prime Minister has raised this issue directly. We will continue to utilize all available diplomatic, and other, tools to ensure that we stand up for the rights of Canadians.

Hon. Omar Alghabra, P.C., M.P., Minister of Transport: Thank you, senator, for that question.

Last fall, Canadians saw the severe impact that extreme weather can have on our society, infrastructure and economy. I was there, on the ground, to see first-hand the work being done by crews and communities. We went into action very quickly. We brought together the private sector, governments and Indigenous leaders in order to work quickly to address these issues and immediately offer relief to Canadians who were impacted by this. Our government provided financial support to the Province of British Columbia, and we’ve been working continuously, as we learn from the impact, to build back better. Climate change is no longer an academic, intellectual exercise, or debate, that people feel is distant from their lives. People now know that climate change is not only real but here today.

Let me also say how grateful I am for the cooperation that all stakeholders — the private sector, the provincial government and Indigenous leaders — demonstrated at the time. However, we cannot lose sight of the important tasks at hand: combatting climate change, as well as adaptation and mitigation.

We are committed to this work, senator, and I welcome your advice and input on what else we can do together.

[Translation]

Hon. Omar Alghabra, P.C., M.P., Minister of Transport: Senator, thank you for the question.

We know that the Arctic continues to grow in strategic and economic importance. Our government is investing in infrastructure in the Arctic and is also putting into place measures and a regulatory framework so that we govern the movement of vessels and their environmental impacts upon the region.

So yes, there is ongoing work that is happening, alongside my colleague the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, on future regulatory imperatives for the Arctic.

Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): Minister, my next question is also about another terrible ranking record.

Earlier this summer, the Toronto Pearson Airport held the “worst airport in the world” ranking due to flight delays. Social media exploded with complaints and frustrations over flight cancellations and delays.

As Minister of Transport and as the Member of Parliament for Mississauga Centre, the riding next to the airport, I would presume this horrible ranking was one that you didn’t celebrate. But clearly, your government didn’t do enough to prepare for the surge in travel as COVID-19 restrictions were lifted.

Minister, you have blamed the travel chaos on a COVID-19 labour shortage. You have also previously blamed travellers for forgetting how to travel. Do you believe your government bears any responsibility in ignoring the warning signs and for not making plans to avoid the airport chaos of this past summer?

Hon. Dennis Glen Patterson: Minister, in June 2019, the Special Senate Committee on the Arctic released a support entitled Northern Lights: A Wake-Up Call for the Future of Canada. We made 30 recommendations that were formed over two years of study, which included extensive witness testimony and a fact-finding mission across the Arctic.

Recommendation 24 reads:

That the Government of Canada, on an immediate basis, establish a robust governance regime to regulate activities in Canada’s Arctic waters, including shipping corridors, and bonding and insurance requirements. . . .

Will your government commit to requiring sailing plans to be filed with your department for all marine vessels and not just those above a certain tonnage? Will it investigate the use of bonding and insurance requirements for pleasure vessels that are increasingly navigating the Northwest Passage? Also, will it fund the construction of necessary infrastructure and navigation aids required in the passage?

Hon. Omar Alghabra, P.C., M.P., Minister of Transport: Senator, thank you for that question. Let me just reassure you that our government is not only acknowledging the ongoing challenges within supply chains, globally and domestically, but also taking action. The Supply Chain Task Force report that was issued three weeks ago talks about the congestion at ports, particularly the Port of Vancouver, which is our busiest port in the country, and it is critical to our Pacific gateway.

Last week I announced on my visit to the Port of Vancouver that our government is launching $136 million for ports and other institutions to digitize and increase efficiency of how they operate and provide more information to shippers and to other stakeholders.

This year we are tabling a bill that will modernize how ports are governed, including the Port of Vancouver. We are also working with the Port of Prince Rupert to ensure that they are able to take on more capacity and more operations.

So, senator, there are issues, and our government is seized with this matter, and we are taking action to address it.

[Translation]

Hon. Omar Alghabra, P.C., M.P., Minister of Transport: Thank you for the question, Madam Senator.

[English]

Our government is committed to the high-frequency rail that is going to connect Quebec City to Toronto with stops in between, including Montreal and Ottawa. This will be, as I have stated, the largest infrastructure project in Canada’s history.

This will also be the first time that VIA Rail will have its own dedicated track to provide that service. This is a new era for VIA Rail. This is a huge investment. I know many Canadians are looking forward to it — so am I — and our government is solidly committed to building this project.

[Translation]

Hon. Michèle Audette: Kwei, minister.

[Editor’s Note: Senator Audette spoke in Innu.]

Minister, last June the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples released its report entitled Not Enough: All Words and No Action on MMIWG.

I would also point out that your government commissioned or ordered the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. The inquiry’s final report includes Calls for Justice that concern you and your department.

I have a question for you about establishing services and infrastructure related to “. . . safe and affordable transit and transportation services . . . for Indigenous women [and] girls . . . living in remote or rural communities.” I am referring to Call for Justice 4.8.

Minister, what concrete actions have been taken to respond to this Call for Justice, particularly to improve the safety of Indigenous women and girls?

[English]

Hon. Dennis Glen Patterson: Minister, you know that in Nunavut we have no road or rail connections to the South, so Nunavut’s capital investment in transportation infrastructure is critical. I know that Nunavut’s Department of Economic Development and Transportation welcomed the opportunity the National Trade Corridors Fund, or NTCF, provided to replace a number of outdated 1970s-era undersized and deteriorating airport terminals to support our only year-round method of transportation.

However, as you know, post-COVID cost increases in supplies and labour are creating cost overruns that have led to increases and a threatened delay in tendering some of the planned NTCF activities.

Will your government commit to additional funds to address the shortfall created by inflation and post-COVID pressures on the supply chain and labour force?

Hon. Leo Housakos (Acting Deputy Leader of the Opposition): Minister, the Government of Quebec is moving forward with construction of the third link between Quebec City and Lévis.

Your colleague Steven Guilbeault seems determined to do what he can to stymie the Legault government. The Quebec bridge is in ruins, CN doesn’t want to invest and that poses a tremendous risk to the region.

The federal government and CN have been dragging their feet for years and refuse to hand over the bridge to the Government of Quebec under acceptable conditions. Minister, I know that you’re aware of the fact that the Trudeau government is jeopardizing the economic future of the entire greater Quebec City region. When will you realize that you need to force CN to do something about the Quebec bridge? When will you tell your colleague Mr. Guilbeault to let Quebecers run the environmental process for the third link?

[English]

Hon. Omar Alghabra, P.C., M.P., Minister of Transport: Senator, our government’s partnership with provinces, including Quebec, is well documented. Our government has invested billions of dollars of key infrastructure projects in the province of Quebec, including in public transportation.

Usually, any project goes through the process it is expected to go through, whether it is through negotiation between the province and the federal government on funding or the environmental impact assessment.

You’re asking me to speak about a particular project that will go and is going through the normal process that projects typically go through between the province and the federal government.