Mr. Speaker, understandably, my remarks will be similar to those of my colleague from Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, since our ridings face each other, on opposite sides of the magnificent St. Lawrence River.
Many municipalities in my constituency are found along the river. There is Grondines, Neuville, Donnacona and a small part of Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, to mention just a few. Naturally, there are a number of wharfs in my riding. Some of them are more for recreational boating while others are used more by industry.
It is easy to understand why I would worry about this change from one department to another. One would think a department like DFO would be more conservation-minded while the Department of Transport would place more emphasis on the development of resources. I can certainly understand why the Prime Minister is interested in shipping.
The Liberal member opposite mentioned that this bill has a positive impact because its impact is neutral. The only thing I can see right now is the old Liberal habit of making cosmetic changes instead of dealing with underlying issues.
Maybe I am a bit naive, as a new member of Parliament, but I have a hard time understanding how the government can fail to take into account the unanimous report of a committee on which it had a majority. Why does it not implement the recommendations of this committee? Its own members voted unanimously for these recommendations.