Mr. Speaker, I too would like to add some comments on my support for the bill.
Companies sometimes worry that user fees are just a tax in another form and sometimes they have been used and abused in that way. In my experience, when companies see that a benefit comes to their part of the world or their organization, they do not mind paying the user fees. However they do get their knickers in a knot when they pay the fees and they do not get anything in return.
There is an example in my riding with which I am dealing right now with the Minister of Agriculture. A fairly small company is importing products from the United States which have been approved for use in the United States. It is a niche market for golf course fertilizer products. They have been used successfully for years.
The people at that company made an application to the agriculture department. They do not mind paying the fees for approval. They understand that fees are a part of it and are happy to do that. However the application has been with the Department of Agriculture for 10 years. They have waited 10 years for approval for this product. Finally a couple of months ago the Department of Agriculture told them that it cannot give approval because it lost the file. After 10 years, it just lost file. All the work that has been done for 10 years in trying to get the product approved is gone.
They do not mind paying the fees. They do not mind helping out by covering the costs of doing the research, the medical tests and so on, but the department lost the file. I think somebody just finally retired with the file. They waited 10 years to get approval. This company is trying to do business.
They have another application before the minister, and the minister and I are dealing with that right now. It is the same sort of thing. It has now been two years. They are going to miss another growing season. They do not mind paying the fees. They are happy to pay the fees. They just want a yes or no on the product. They are stocking retailers' shelves right now to see if they can get their business going.
By all means, let us have a look at this. Let us find ways to make sure that user fees are used properly and are not just a way to collect money. Let us make sure that we get value for corporations and individuals that are just trying to get ahead.
The people at the company in my riding, considering what has happened, are really very understanding. All they are asking is, “Are we doing something wrong? We will pay the fees. Is there more paperwork we need to do? Is there somebody else we could talk to?” It has taken so long now that it is not a matter of money, they just cannot get approval, even a yes or no.
Again the fees are not the issue, although they are sometimes seen as a tax grab. The issue is making sure that the fees are used for the purposes for which they are collected, that they just do not go into a black hole where approval processes, as in the case of the company in my constituency, just dragged on for so long that it got lost.
We want to make sure that user fees actually are used to help expedite the process. By all means let us send the bill to committee. Let us see if we can get this examined and see where we can help businesses get the job done. User fees certainly can be a productive part of that. Companies understand that. As long as they see cause and effect for fees and services, they are happy to be part of it and I think they should be.