Madam Speaker, as always, it is an honour to stand in this House to represent the amazing folks of Essex. I always give, and will always continue to give, all honour to my lord and saviour, to God, for the opportunity to do this. Without him, nothing is possible. I want to say to the folks of Essex, if it is the last time I get a chance to speak in the House before Christmas, merry Christmas to them.

One week from today will be a pretty monumental day. It will be 25 years of marriage to the love of my life, an amazing woman named Allison. I am kind of surprised she is still with me. She is one of the most remarkable human beings on this earth, someone who cares deeply. She has stood by me through thick and thin. She is an amazing mother of three and a remarkable grammy to Levi, our grandson, who is two and a half years old. Although, in this House, we cannot acknowledge anyone in the gallery, if she were here, I would say that I love her dearly and that I need her now more than ever. I would say that reaching 25 years is pretty darn special. Thank you, Madam Speaker, for allowing me that time.

Any time we give a politician who loves labour and loves firefighting an opportunity to speak about labour and firefighting, it can be kind of dangerous. However, I think it is a pretty awesome and unique opportunity here for me tonight. I am going to speak to Motion No. 96.

I served in the fire department in Kingsville for seven and a half years, from 1998 to 2005. It was one of the most critical and unique times in my life. It brings me back to one of the most unfortunate events that I had to go to. It was a plane crash off Pelee Island. There were eight souls and two dogs coming over from a pheasant trip. The plane went down in the icy waters of Lake Erie shortly after takeoff, and they were lost. I was part of the recovery rescue team.

This motion speaks to a lot of opportunities that we have, but it does not really get down to the granular issues of each and every airport. I think about the Windsor airport. Quite frankly, I do not believe that this motion would encapsulate the Windsor airport, which is right next to an incredibly busy airport, the Detroit airport. It occupies much of the same space as the Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

About a month and a half or two months ago, I visited the control tower in Windsor. I listened to stories about the difficulties of talking to and working with the Detroit Metropolitan Airport control towers. I listened to how the control space, the area around Windsor, is much different than the areas around many other airports across the country.

Because of that conversation, I am now realizing that Motion No. 96 may fall slightly short of exactly what needs to get done. I want to thank the member for introducing Motion No. 96. I think its intentions are correct, but I believe it needs to be studied at committee.

About a month and a half ago, maybe a couple of months ago, I had an opportunity to speak with the firefighters from the Ottawa airport. They were in my office at the Justice Building. We had a really good conversation. I said to them at the end of the conversation, and it easy to speak to firefighters when one was a firefighter, that I would bring this to the transport committee, have a conversation at the transport committee and figure out the best way to move forward with this dialogue around potential legislation, which is what this should be, in my opinion. They were, I would suggest, ecstatic, to say the very least.

We could talk about the cost of this, easily. We are hearing anywhere from $1.50 to $2.50 per plane ticket, per individual, for each airport. We also understand, and I believe it to be true, that any airport that does not fly 180,000 flights per year does not fall under this motion. Just as a firefighter is a firefighter is a firefighter, a human being is a human being is a human being.

Somebody flying out of Toronto or Vancouver or Montreal should be the same as those flying out of the ones that are discussed at committee, whether they are at the Windsor airport, the Pelee Island Airport or the Greater Sudbury Airport. It is really vital that we bring this to committee to be studied.

I sit on the transport committee, and last night at transport committee, my colleague from Chilliwack—Hope introduced a notice of motion. I would like to read that into the record. He moved:

That the committee undertake a comparative study on the cost of federal taxes, fees and regulations on the price of airline tickets in Canada and the United States, allocating a minimum of 4 meetings to this study to hear from witnesses from Canadian and US airlines, Canadian and US airport authorities, and other interested parties, and that the Committee report its findings to the House.

There was debate on this last night. I think this is the route the House needs to take.

I suppose, if we were to take it one step further, we would talk about labour and training. As I criss-cross the country, from coast to coast to coast, I continue to hear that people are struggling to find labour. They are struggling to find skilled trades. In my own municipality, in my own riding, I know how hard it is to get firefighters these days. Back when I was lucky enough to become a firefighter, it took a long time. Now they are screaming for firefighters. I am not so sure, without studying this at length, even if this motion were to pass, we would have the firefighters to fulfill these roles.

It has only ever been about service for me. It has only ever, and will only ever, be about service. I believe the service we are doing in the House tonight discussing Motion No. 96, and I thank the hon. member for introducing this motion, we are doing not only for the passengers of airlines but also for the firefighters. I want to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. I would strongly suggest that this is sent to transport committee, and that we can come up with a solution that works for the passengers, the firefighters and all Canadians.

Chris Lewis

$588,887.00