TRAN Committee Meeting

The Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities met at 12:07 p.m. this day, in Room 209, West Block, the Chair, Merv Tweed, presiding.

The Committee resumed consideration of the motion of John McCallum, — That the Committee immediately produce an interim report to the House related to its study of the March 31, 2011 deadline for infrastructure stimulus projects and that the report read as follows:

The Committee recommends that the Government move immediately to extend the stimulus deadline by six months for all projects across Canada.

The debate continued.

By unanimous consent, the motion was withdrawn.

John McCallum moved, — That the Committee request the Department of Transport to provide the Committee with all documentation, both paper and electronic, related to the $32,885 that the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities’ office spent on professional and special services in the fiscal year 2009-2010, and that this information be provided to the Committee in both official languages within five business days.

It was agreed, — That the debate on the motion be adjourned to a later date.

The Committee commenced its clause-by-clause study of the Bill.

The witnesses answered questions.

Pursuant to Standing Order 75(1), consideration of Clause 1 was postponed.

The Chair called Clause 2.

On Clause 2,

(a) by replacing lines 15 and 16 on page 1 with the following:

“to land in the United States or fly over the United States and land outside Canada or of a Canadian”

(b) by replacing lines 18 and 19 on page 1 with the following:

“Canada that is due to land in or fly over the United States may, in accordance with the”

(c) by replacing line 21 on page 1 with the following:

“in the United States any information that is in”

(d) by replacing line 24 on page 1 with the following:

“that is required by the laws of the United States.”

RULING BY THE CHAIR

The Aeronautics Act, in Section 4.83 contains provisions for the operator of an aircraft that is due to land in a foreign state to share information with regard to any persons aboard the aircraft with that foreign state.

Bill C-42 amends the Aeronautics Act to also include the sharing of information with a foreign state by the operator of an aircraft if that aircraft is due to fly over that foreign state in the course of an international flight.

This amendment proposes to amend Bill C-42 so that the provisions of the Section 4.83 of the Aeronautics Act would apply solely to operators of an aircraft that is due to fly over, or land in, the United States of America.

As House of Commons Procedure and Practice Second Edition states on page 766:

“An amendment to a bill that was referred to committee after second reading is out of order if it is beyond the scope and principle of the bill.”

In the opinion of the Chair, the limitation of the provisions of Bill C-42 with regard to its application to only one foreign state is contrary to the principle of Bill C-42 and is therefore inadmissible.

Whereupon, Dennis Bevington appealed the decision of the Chair.

The question: "Shall the decision of the Chair be sustained?" was put and the decision was sustained on the following recorded division: YEAS: Larry Bagnell, Lois Brown, Sukh Dhaliwal, Michel Guimond, Brian Jean, John McCallum, LaVar Payne, Thierry St-Cyr, Brad Trost, Jeff Watson — 10; NAYS: Dennis Bevington — 1.

“in that foreign state if prescribed by regulation any information that is in”

Debate arose thereon.

By unanimous consent, the amendment was withdrawn.

“the operator’s control, namely, the flight number and the surname, first name, sex and date of birth of any person on board or expected to be on board the aircraft, and that is required by the laws of the foreign state.”

Debate arose thereon.

At 1:32 p.m., the Committee adjourned to the call of the Chair.