Bill C-38 (Historical)

Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act

An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 29, 2012 and other measures

Part 1 of this enactment implements certain income tax measures and related measures proposed in the March 29, 2012 budget. Most notably, it
(a) expands the list of eligible expenses under the Medical Expense Tax Credit to include blood coagulation monitors and their disposable peripherals;
(b) introduces a temporary measure to allow certain family members to open a Registered Disability Savings Plan for an adult individual who might not be able to enter into a contract;
(c) extends, for one year, the temporary Mineral Exploration Tax Credit for flow-through share investors;
(d) allows corporations to make split and late eligible dividend designations;
(e) makes the salary of the Governor General taxable and adjusts that salary;
(f) allows a designated partner of a partnership to provide a waiver on behalf of all partners to extend the time limit for issuing a determination in respect of the partnership;
(g) amends the penalty applicable to promoters of charitable donation tax shelters who file false registration information or who fail to register a tax shelter prior to selling interests in the tax shelter;
(h) introduces a new penalty applicable to tax shelter promoters who fail to respond to a demand to file an information return or who file an information return that contains false or misleading sales information;
(i) limits the period for which a tax shelter identification number is valid to one calendar year;
(j) modifies the rules for registering certain foreign charitable organizations as qualified donees;
(k) amends the rules for determining the extent to which a charity has engaged in political activities; and
(l) provides the Minister of National Revenue with the authority to suspend the privileges, with respect to issuing tax receipts, of a registered charity or a registered Canadian amateur athletic association if the charity or association fails to report information that is required to be filed annually in an information return or devotes resources to political activities in excess of the limits set out in the Income Tax Act.
Part 1 also implements other selected income tax measures and related measures. Most notably, it
(a) amends the Income Tax Act consequential on the implementation of the Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act, including the extension of the tax deferral allowed to farmers in a designated area who produce listed grains and receive deferred cash purchase tickets to all Canadian farmers who produce listed grains and receive deferred cash purchase tickets;
(b) provides authority for the Canada Revenue Agency to issue via online notice or regular mail demands to file a return; and
(c) introduces a requirement for commercial tax preparers to file income tax returns electronically.
Part 2 amends the Excise Tax Act to implement certain excise tax and goods and services tax/harmonized sales tax (GST/HST) measures proposed in the March 29, 2012 Budget. It expands the list of GST/HST zero-rated medical and assistive devices as well as the list of GST/HST zero-rated non-prescription drugs that are used to treat life-threatening diseases. It also exempts certain pharmacists’ professional services from the GST/HST, other than prescription drug dispensing services that are already zero-rated. It further allows certain literacy organizations to claim a rebate of the GST and the federal component of the HST paid on the acquisition of books to be given away for free by those organizations. It also implements legislative requirements relating to the Government of British Columbia’s decision to exit the harmonized sales tax framework. Additional amendments to that Act and related regulations in respect of foreign-based rental vehicles temporarily imported by Canadian residents provide, in certain circumstances, relief from the GST/HST, the Green Levy on fuel-inefficient vehicles and the automobile air conditioner tax. This Part further amends that Act to ensure that changes to the standardized fuel consumption test method used for the EnerGuide, as announced on February 17, 2012 by the Minister of Natural Resources, do not affect the application of the Green Levy.
Finally, Part 2 amends the Air Travellers Security Charge Act, the Excise Act, 2001 and the Excise Tax Act to provide authority for the Canada Revenue Agency to issue via online notice or regular mail demands to file a return.
Part 3 contains certain measures related to responsible resource development.
Division 1 of Part 3 enacts the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012, which establishes a new federal environmental assessment regime. Assessments are conducted in relation to projects, designated by regulations or by the Minister of the Environment, to determine whether they are likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects that fall within the legislative authority of Parliament, or that are directly linked or necessarily incidental to a federal authority’s exercise of a power or performance of a duty or function that is required for the carrying out of the project.
The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, the National Energy Board or a review panel established by the Minister are to conduct assessments within applicable time limits. At the end of an assessment, a decision statement is to be issued to the project proponent who is required to comply with the conditions set out in it.
The enactment provides for cooperation between the federal government and other jurisdictions by enabling the delegation of an environmental assessment, the substitution of the process of another jurisdiction for an environmental assessment under the Act and the exclusion of a project from the application of the Act when there is an equivalent assessment by another jurisdiction. The enactment requires that there be opportunities for public participation during an environmental assessment, that participant funding programs and a public registry be established, and that there be follow-up programs in relation to all environmental assessments. It also provides for powers of inspection and fines.
Finally, the enactment specifies that federal authorities are not to take certain measures regarding the carrying out of projects on federal lands or outside Canada unless they determine that those projects are not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects.
This Division also makes related amendments to the Environmental Violations Administrative Monetary Penalties Act and consequential amendments to other Acts, and repeals the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.
Division 2 of Part 3 amends the National Energy Board Act to allow the Governor in Council to make the decision about the issuance of certificates for major pipelines. It amends the Act to establish time limits for regulatory reviews under the Act and to enhance the powers of the National Energy Board Chairperson and the Minister responsible for the Act to ensure that those reviews are conducted in a timely manner. It also amends the Act to permit the National Energy Board to exercise federal jurisdiction over navigation in respect of pipelines and power lines that cross navigable waters and it establishes an administrative monetary penalty system.
Division 3 of Part 3 amends the Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act to authorize the National Energy Board to exercise federal jurisdiction over navigation in respect of pipelines and power lines that cross navigable waters.
Division 4 of Part 3 amends the Nuclear Safety and Control Act to extend the maximum allowable term of temporary members of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission from six months to three years. It is also amended to allow for a licence to be transferred with the consent of that Commission and it puts in place an administrative monetary penalty system.
Division 5 of Part 3 amends the Fisheries Act to focus that Act on the protection of fish that support commercial, recreational or Aboriginal fisheries and to more effectively manage those activities that pose the greatest threats to these fisheries. The amendments provide additional clarity for the authorization of serious harm to fish and of deposits of deleterious substances. The amendments allow the Minister to enter into agreements with provinces and with other bodies, provide for the control and management of aquatic invasive species, clarify and expand the powers of inspectors, and permit the Governor in Council to designate another Minister as the Minister responsible for the administration and enforcement of subsections 36(3) to (6) of the Fisheries Act for the purposes of, and in relation to, subject matters set out by order.
Division 6 of Part 3 amends the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 to provide the Minister of the Environment with the authority to renew disposal at sea permits in prescribed circumstances. It is also amended to change the publication requirements for disposal at sea permits and to provide authority to make regulations respecting time limits for their issuance and renewal.
Division 7 of Part 3 amends the Species at Risk Act to allow for the issuance of authorizations with a longer term, to clarify the authority to renew the authorizations and to make compliance with conditions of permits enforceable. The Act is also amended to provide authority to make regulations respecting time limits for the issuance and renewal of permits under the Act. Furthermore, section 77 is amended to ensure that the National Energy Board will be able to issue a certificate when required to do so by the Governor in Council under subsection 54(1) of the National Energy Board Act.
Part 4 enacts and amends several Acts in order to implement various measures.
Division 1 of Part 4 amends a number of Acts to eliminate the requirement for the Auditor General of Canada to undertake annual financial audits of certain entities and to assess the performance reports of two agencies. This Division also eliminates other related obligations.
Division 2 of Part 4 amends the Trust and Loan Companies Act, the Bank Act and the Cooperative Credit Associations Act to prohibit the issuance of life annuity-like products.
Division 3 of Part 4 provides that PPP Canada Inc. is an agent of Her Majesty for purposes limited to its mandated activities at the federal level, including the provision of advice to federal departments and Crown corporations on public-private partnership projects.
Division 4 of Part 4 amends the Northwest Territories Act, the Nunavut Act and the Yukon Act to provide the authority for the Governor in Council to set, on the recommendation of the Minister of Finance, the maximum amount of territorial borrowings and to make regulations in relation to those maximum amounts, including what constitutes borrowing, the relevant entities and the valuation of the borrowings.
Division 5 of Part 4 amends the Financial Administration Act to modify, for parent Crown corporations, the period to which their quarterly financial reports relate, so that it is aligned with their financial year, and to include in the place of certain annual tabling requirements related to the business and activities of parent Crown corporations a requirement to make public consolidated quarterly reports on their business and activities. It also amends the Alternative Fuels Act and the Public Service Employment Act to eliminate certain reporting requirements.
Division 6 of Part 4 amends the Department of Human Resources and Skills Development Act to establish the Social Security Tribunal and to add provisions authorizing the electronic administration or enforcement of programs, legislation, activities or policies. It also amends the Canada Pension Plan, the Old Age Security Act and the Employment Insurance Act so that appeals from decisions made under those Acts will be heard by the Social Security Tribunal. Finally, it provides for transitional provisions and makes consequential amendments to other Acts.
Division 7 of Part 4 amends the Department of Human Resources and Skills Development Act to add provisions relating to the protection of personal information obtained in the course of administering or enforcing the Canada Pension Plan and the Old Age Security Act and repeals provisions in the Canada Pension Plan and the Old Age Security Act that are substantially the same as those that are added to the Human Resources and Skills Development Act.
Division 8 of Part 4 amends the Department of Human Resources and Skills Development Act to add provisions relating to the social insurance registers and Social Insurance Numbers. It also amends the Canada Pension Plan in relation to Social Insurance Numbers and the Employment Insurance Act to repeal certain provisions relating to the social insurance registers and Social Insurance Numbers and to maintain the power to charge the costs of those registers to the Employment Insurance Operating Account.
Division 9 of Part 4 amends the Parks Canada Agency Act to provide that the Agency may enter into agreements with other ministers or bodies to assist in the administration and enforcement of legislation in places outside national parks, national historic sites, national marine conservation areas and other protected heritage areas if considerations of geography make it impractical for the other minister or body to administer and enforce that legislation in those places. It also amends that Act to provide that the Chief Executive Officer is to report to the Minister of the Environment under section 31 of that Act every five years. It amends that Act to remove the requirements for annual corporate plans, annual reports and annual audits, and amends that Act, the Canada National Parks Act and the Canada National Marine Conservation Areas Act to provide that that Minister is to review management plans for national parks, national historic sites, national marine conservation areas and other protected heritage areas at least every 10 years and is to have any amendments to a plan tabled in Parliament.
Division 10 of Part 4 amends the Trust and Loan Companies Act, the Bank Act and the Insurance Companies Act in order to allow public sector investment pools that satisfy certain criteria, including pursuing commercial objectives, to directly invest in a Canadian financial institution, subject to approval by the Minister of Finance.
Division 11 of Part 4 amends the National Housing Act, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation Act and the Supporting Vulnerable Seniors and Strengthening Canada’s Economy Act to enhance the governance and oversight framework of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
This Division also amends the National Housing Act to establish a registry for institutions that issue covered bonds and for covered bond programs and to provide for the protection of covered bond contracts and covered bond collateral in the event of an issuer’s bankruptcy or insolvency. It also makes amendments to the Trust and Loan Companies Act, the Bank Act, the Insurance Companies Act and the Cooperative Credit Associations Act to prohibit institutions from issuing covered bonds except within the framework established under the National Housing Act. Finally, it includes a coordinating amendment to the Supporting Vulnerable Seniors and Strengthening Canada’s Economy Act.
Division 12 of Part 4 implements the Framework Agreement on Integrated Cross-Border Maritime Law Enforcement Operations between the Government of Canada and the Government of the United States of America signed on May 26, 2009.
Division 13 of Part 4 amends the Bretton Woods and Related Agreements Act to reflect an increase in Canada’s quota subscription, as related to the ratification of the 2010 Quota and Governance reform resolution of the Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund, and to align the timing of the annual report under that Act to correspond to that of the annual report under the Official Development Assistance Accountability Act.
Division 14 of Part 4 amends the Canada Health Act so that members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are included in the definition of “insured person”.
Division 15 of Part 4 amends the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act to
(a) remove the office of the Inspector General;
(b) require the Security Intelligence Review Committee to submit to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness a certificate on the Director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service’s annual report; and
(c) increase the information on the Service’s activities to be provided by that Committee to that Minister.
Division 16 of Part 4 amends the Currency Act to clarify certain provisions that relate to the calling in and the redemption of coins.
Division 17 of Part 4 amends the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act in order to implement the total transfer protection for the 2012-2013 fiscal year and to give effect to certain elements of major transfer renewal that were announced by the Minister of Finance on December 19, 2011. It also makes certain administrative amendments to that Act and to the Canada Health Act.
Division 18 of Part 4 amends the Fisheries Act to authorize the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans to allocate fish for the purpose of financing scientific and fisheries management activities in the context of joint project agreements.
Division 19 of Part 4 amends the Food and Drugs Act to give the Minister of Health the power to establish a list that sets out prescription drugs or classes of prescription drugs and to provide that the list may be incorporated by reference. It also gives the Minister the power to issue marketing authorizations that exempt a food, or an advertisement with respect to a food, from certain provisions of the Act. The division also provides that a regulation with respect to a food and a marketing authorization may incorporate by reference any document. It also makes consequential amendments to other Acts.
Division 20 of Part 4 amends the Government Employees Compensation Act to allow prescribed entities to be subrogated to the rights of employees to make claims against third parties.
Division 21 of Part 4 amends the International Development Research Centre Act to reduce the maximum number of governors of the Centre to 14, and to consequently change other rules about the number of governors.
Division 22 of Part 4 amends Part I of the Canada Labour Code to require the parties to a collective agreement to file a copy of it with the Minister of Labour, subject to the regulations, as a condition for it to come into force. It amends Part III of that Act to require employers that provide benefits to their employees under long-term disability plans to insure those plans, subject to certain exceptions. The Division also amends that Part to create an offence and to increase maximum fines for offences under that Part.
Division 23 of Part 4 repeals the Fair Wages and Hours of Labour Act.
Division 24 of Part 4 amends the Old Age Security Act to provide the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development with the authority to waive the requirement for an application for Old Age Security benefits for many eligible seniors, to gradually increase the age of eligibility for the Old Age Security Pension, the Guaranteed Income Supplement, the Allowance and the Allowance for the Survivor and to allow individuals to voluntarily defer their Old Age Security Pension up to five years past the age of eligibility, in exchange for a higher, actuarially adjusted, pension.
Division 25 of Part 4 dissolves the Public Appointments Commission and its secretariat.
Division 26 of Part 4 amends the Seeds Act to give the President of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency the power to issue licences to persons authorizing them to perform activities related to controlling or assuring the quality of seeds or seed crops.
Division 27 of Part 4 amends the Statutory Instruments Act to remove the distribution requirements for the Canada Gazette.
Division 28 of Part 4 amends the Investment Canada Act in order to authorize the Minister of Industry to communicate or disclose certain information relating to investments and to accept security in order to promote compliance with undertakings.
Division 29 of Part 4 amends the Customs Act to allow the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness to designate a portion of a roadway or other access way that leads to a customs office and that is used by persons arriving in Canada and by persons travelling within Canada as a mixed-traffic corridor. All persons who are travelling in a mixed-traffic corridor must present themselves to a border services officer and state whether they are arriving from a location outside or within Canada.
Division 30 of Part 4 gives retroactive effect to subsections 39(2) and (3) of the Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985.
Division 31 of Part 4 amends the Railway Safety Act to limit the apportionment of costs to a road authority when a grant has been made under section 12 of that Act.
Division 32 of Part 4 amends the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Act to replace the two Vice-chairperson positions with two permanent member positions.
Division 33 of Part 4 repeals the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development Act and authorizes the closing out of the affairs of the Centre established by that Act.
Division 34 of Part 4 amends the Health of Animals Act to allow the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food to declare certain areas to be control zones in respect of a disease or toxic substance. The enactment also grants the Minister certain powers, including the power to make regulations prohibiting the movement of persons, animals or things in the control zones for the purpose of eliminating a disease or toxic substance or controlling its spread and the power to impose conditions on the movement of animals or things in those zones.
Division 35 of Part 4 amends the Canada School of Public Service Act to abolish the Board of Governors of the Canada School of Public Service and to place certain responsibilities on the Minister designated for the purposes of the Act and on the President of the School.
Division 36 of Part 4 amends the Bank Act by adding a preamble to it.
Division 37 of Part 4 amends the Corrections and Conditional Release Act to eliminate the requirement of a hearing for certain reviews.
Division 38 of Part 4 amends the Coasting Trade Act to add seismic activities to the list of exceptions to the prohibition against foreign ships and non-duty paid ships engaging in the coasting trade.
Division 39 of Part 4 amends the Status of the Artist Act to dissolve the Canadian Artists and Producers Professional Relations Tribunal and transfer its powers and duties to the Canada Industrial Relations Board.
Division 40 of Part 4 amends the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy Act to give the Round Table the power to sell or otherwise dispose of its assets and satisfy its debts and liabilities and to give the Minister of the Environment the power to direct the Round Table in respect of the exercise of some of its powers. The Division provides for the repeal of the Act and makes consequential amendments to other acts.
Division 41 of Part 4 amends the Telecommunications Act to change the rules relating to foreign ownership of Canadian carriers eligible to operate as telecommunications common carriers and to permit the recovery of costs associated with the administration and enforcement of the national do not call list.
Division 42 of Part 4 amends the Employment Equity Act to remove the requirements that are specific to the Federal Contractors Program for Employment Equity.
Division 43 of Part 4 amends the Employment Insurance Act to permit a person’s benefits to be determined by reference to their highest earnings in a given number of weeks, to permit regulations to be made respecting what constitutes suitable employment, to remove the requirement that a consent to deduction be in writing, to provide a limitation period within which certain repayments of overpayments need to be deducted and paid and to clarify the provisions respecting the refund of premiums to self-employed persons. It also amends that Act to modify the Employment Insurance premium rate-setting mechanism, including requiring that the rate be set on a seven-year break-even basis once the Employment Insurance Operating Account returns to balance. The Division makes consequential amendments to the Canada Employment Insurance Financing Board Act.
Division 44 of Part 4 amends the Customs Tariff to make certain imported fuels duty-free and to increase the travellers’ exemption thresholds.
Division 45 of Part 4 amends the Canada Marine Act to require provisions of a port authority’s letters patent relating to limits on the authority’s power to borrow money to be recommended by the Minister of Transport and the Minister of Finance before they are approved by the Governor in Council.
Division 46 of Part 4 amends the First Nations Land Management Act to implement changes made to the Framework Agreement on First Nation Land Management, including changes relating to the description of land that is to be subject to a land code, and to provide for the coming into force of land codes and the development by First Nations of environmental protection regimes.
Division 47 of Part 4 amends the Canada Travelling Exhibitions Indemnification Act to increase the maximum indemnity in respect of individual travelling exhibitions, as well as the maximum indemnity in respect of all travelling exhibitions.
Division 48 of Part 4 amends the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority Act to provide that the chief executive officer of the Authority is appointed by the Governor in Council and that an employee may not replace the chief executive officer for more than 90 days without the Governor in Council’s approval.
Division 49 of Part 4 amends the First Nations Fiscal and Statistical Management Act to repeal provisions related to the First Nations Statistical Institute and amends that Act and other Acts to remove any reference to that Institute. It authorizes the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development to close out the Institute’s affairs.
Division 50 of Part 4 amends the Canadian Forces Members and Veterans Re-establishment and Compensation Act to provide for the payment or reimbursement of fees for career transition services for veterans or their survivors.
Division 51 of Part 4 amends the Department of Human Resources and Skills Development Act to add powers, duties and functions that are substantially the same as those conferred by the Department of Social Development Act. It repeals the Department of Social Development Act and, in doing so, eliminates the National Council of Welfare.
Division 52 of Part 4 amends the Wage Earner Protection Program Act in order to correct the English version of the definition “eligible wages”.
Division 53 of Part 4 repeals the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act.
Division 54 of Part 4 amends the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Budget Implementation Act, 2008 to provide for the termination of certain applications for permanent residence that were made before February 27, 2008. This Division also amends the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to, among other things, authorize the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to give instructions establishing and governing classes of permanent residents as part of the economic class and to provide that the User Fees Act does not apply in respect of fees set by those instructions. Furthermore, this Division amends the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to allow for the retrospective application of certain regulations and certain instructions given by the Minister, if those regulations and instructions so provide, and to authorize regulations to be made respecting requirements imposed on employers in relation to authorizations to work in Canada.
Division 55 of Part 4 enacts the Shared Services Canada Act to establish Shared Services Canada to provide certain administrative services specified by the Governor in Council. The Act provides for the Governor in Council to designate a minister to preside over Shared Services Canada.
Division 56 of Part 4 amends the Assisted Human Reproduction Act to respond to the Supreme Court of Canada decision in Reference re Assisted Human Reproduction Act that was rendered in 2010, including by repealing the provisions that were found to be unconstitutional and abolishing the Assisted Human Reproduction Agency of Canada.

[Thomas Siddon, As an Individual]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

It is a great honour for me to appear before your committee this evening. I have studied Bill C-38, and I have several comments to make.

I want to start by giving you a quick overview. As a young boy living a little south of you, along the Red Deer River, I was able to go, as my grandfather did, to fish in the Red Deer River around Drumheller. Anyone who knows that river nowadays knows that since the building of dams and with the rapid melt rate of the glaciers above Sundre, we are seeing the water quality severely altered, and fish have long since died in that part of the Red Deer River.

I always wondered why sewage plants were built downstream of communities, right up until the late seventies, without adequate sewage treatment. I worked in a chemical plant as a young engineering student and was urged to turn my back one night as the operating superintendent arranged to open some valves and dumped the heel of holding tanks into the North Saskatchewan River.

This is why I have a strong feeling and concern for what Bill C-38 proposes and purports to do to the federal Fisheries Act, which goes back to 1868. It's the oldest piece of federal legislation. It has 144 years of life behind it, and it does not need modernization after all those years. Perhaps its implementation and application could be modified and improved, but the problem is not with the act, as I will attempt to elaborate.

As an engineer, I'm in favour of mining. I was once the mines critic for the Progressive Conservative Party. I have often talked about the virtues of hydro power and pumped storage, which will come into its day in the future. But at the same time, we have lost more than 85% of the natural habitat to support our fish stocks across Canada, in inland waters and coastal waters. We've seen our stocks decline over the past century to historically low values. The reason for that is that we always did things the way we did them in order to get on with business and not worry too much about the downstream consequences. I think this bill, as I will elaborate in a few moments, has many dangerous elements to it from that perspective.

Having sat on the Okanagan Basin Water Board and chaired the stewardship council for seven years, I have learned that for every watershed, there is one water. So when we hear farmers or cottagers or others talking about doing whatever they wish with their drainage ditches or on their beachfronts, I say no, that's not the case. The riparian shoreline belongs to every British Columbian and every Canadian and has to be protected and preserved.

In 1976, the habitat provisions were introduced in the Fisheries Act in what were called sections 31 and 33, but it wasn't until 1986 that we brought in a policy that led to the regulatory regime under which those habitat provisions were administered. I have here the policy, the document I took to the Parliament of Canada on October 7, 1986, after extensive consultation with all of the interest groups across Canada—in Ontario, in Ottawa, in British Columbia, and in Atlantic Canada—both the proponents of major projects and the conservationists, wildlife authorities, and others.

This policy embodies three major principles. If you think about the decline and demise of our fish stocks, the first principle should strike you as being important: to provide a net gain of Canada's habitat for fish.

The second is that there should be no net loss of habitat arising from specific fish-related projects, which might in fact have consequences otherwise of killing fish—which, by the way, these new provisions of Bill C-38 permit, in the case of certain species.

The third and most important principle was that people should get together in an integrated co-management fashion. That, I would remind you, in 1986—25 years ago—was most uncommon. Governments did what governments wanted to do, and of course, they were often subjected to the influence and the power of money and jobs.

In 1986 we adopted this policy, the first in the world, and it's still significant and it still stands today. But with the passage of this bill, its impact and its import will be significantly reduced and diminished.

Experience taught me some hard-won lessons as Minister of Fisheries for Canada between 1985 and 1990. I had to preside over the demise of the Atlantic groundfish fishery, because the Kirby royal commission recommended a corporate fishery, which had no provision to prevent the destruction of the fish-bearing seabed off the coast of Newfoundland, and the scientists were wrong in suggesting that there were more fish when in fact there were declining stocks. Small cod stocks were being thrown over the side and high-graded, without regard for the fact that they took seven years to come to maturity and to reproduce.

In Prince Edward Island, we had a serious issue with contaminated shellfish in which people died because we didn't administer the shellfish aquaculture industry effectively when it came to the brackish lagoons around the coastline of Prince Edward Island. We created something called dinoflagellate populations, which essentially killed people.

We had the pulp mills of Canada all across Canada pouring the products of the kraft bleaching process, dioxins and furans, into waters throughout our interior and around our coasts, with the result that carcinogenic levels of dioxins and furans were found in the bottom-feeding fish, which were part of the overall food chain. That wasn't found out until Greenpeace sent water samples to Sweden, because Canada didn't have the capacity to discover those realities.

I had to deal with the fact of the populations of beluga whales in the St. Lawrence, which were once 20,000 when they met at the mouth of the Saguenay downstream from the Alcan smelter, dwindled to a few hundred because the females, who needed to be about 14 years of age to reproduce, had their ovaries destroyed by chemicals in the St. Lawrence River.

The consequence of intense fish farming...? After 25 years, the jury is still out on that one.

And the decline of Pacific salmon and steelhead stocks is always at the forefront of the concerns of British Columbians. Mudslides caused by indiscriminate logging practices and sometimes mining operations have to be considered. In a moment I'll tell you why I think this bill is not going to provide adequate protection for that.

You can't always put fisheries science into a neat little box or a straitjacket of time limitation, as in part of this bill—proposed sections 52 to, I think, 131 or 129. With the new CEAA provision, you're going to fast-track everything, put it in a neat little time-limited box, but this has no regard for some of the complexities that as fisheries minister I had to deal with. I had to deal with hundreds of angry fishermen who had their fisheries closed. The Atlantic cod stock collapse led to an industry being virtually closed for now more than a quarter of a century, because we didn't have the foresight or the knowledge at that time to do it right.

When we were a Conservative government, we brought in the first and only green plan for Canada's environment. We brought in an environmental protection strategy—the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, which is now being totally replaced; the Canadian Environmental Protection Act; and the Arctic environmental protection strategy.

Did you know that the breast milk of Inuit women in the Arctic is loaded with industrial chemicals from the south because we have not learned that it goes through the atmosphere into the Arctic food chain, into the fatty tissue of marine animals, and Inuit women drink it, and their health is impaired as a result of it?

This is why we have a Fisheries Act with teeth in it. I am very alarmed by the provisions of Bill C-38, which will erode all of the provisions of 144 years of history.

In questioning, I will tell you specifically—clause by clause, if you ask me—what I feel is defective in this bill. But I'm here to express my concern that Bill C-38 makes a Swiss cheese out of the federal Fisheries Act.

My concerns are shared by numerous other former ministers of fisheries, including the three others who, with me, signed a letter to the Prime Minister two days ago. It's shared by hundreds of fisheries scientists and biologists and thousands of conservation-minded Canadians.

I think government members and this committee should give careful and thorough consideration to that, and I'll deal with specifics later if we have an opportunity, Mr. Chairman.

Merci beaucoup.

[Eduard Wojczynski, Chair, Board of Directors, Canadian Hydropower Association]

The Canadian Hydropower Association welcomes the new Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. It will reduce federal-provincial overlap and duplication, which costs taxpayers, electricity ratepayers, and project proponents. Bill C-38 reforms will concentrate the federal process on areas of federal jurisdiction. They will put the emphasis on projects that are likely to have significant impacts. The process improvements should allow the system to comfortably accommodate the timelines proposed in CEAA 2012, and provide quality environmental assessments. Proponents will be able to dedicate resources to really solving priority environmental issues without being sidelined by process distractions that do not contribute to actual environmental outcomes.

I’d like to emphasize that predictability and timeliness in project review and authorization are critical to our industry. Currently, the approvals for major projects in Canada take about four years. Developers usually begin environmental studies many years before the official EA starts. This is too long for investments that are sensitive to market timing, especially in comparison to the shorter time to market for competing fossil fuel generation. Delays can have a significant impact on project economics. For example, even just a one-year delay in Manitoba Hydro’s proposed $8 billion Conawapa generating station would result in a half a billion dollars in lost revenue. This represents a loss to Manitobans and a loss of export revenue to Canadians.

But the impacts of a faulty regulatory system can be even broader. They can lead to suboptimal choices both for the environment and the economy. Let me give you an example, again from my own company. Manitoba Hydro recently signed power purchase agreements with Minnesota and Wisconsin for future electricity delivery, and we need to invest over $15 billion to expand hydro facilities to meet the contract requirements, while also meeting Manitoba’s growing domestic requirements.

We are a preferred supplier in the U.S. and elsewhere. Our electricity is clean, renewable, and reliable. We will act as a battery to support wind power in the mid-west of Canada and the U.S. Our hydro would displace thermal generation and reduce greenhouse gases and air pollution in North America. If the EA process runs more slowly than expected and we miss our contract deadlines, the contracts can be cancelled. Manitobans and Canadians would suffer significant economic losses.

Just as important, though, is that our customers would turn to U.S. coal or gas-fired generation to meet their needs. The advantages of reducing greenhouse gases and air pollution by using Canadian hydro power would be lost. The answer is not imposing new timelines on the old system. The current regime has problems of duplication, inefficiency, lack of focus, and lack of coordination. We believe that Bill C-38 addresses these fundamental challenges.

Bill C-38 also addresses other legislation important to us. The Canadian hydro power industry supports the protection of fish and fish habitat, but the Fisheries Act has been a source of frustration, especially regarding its undefined authorization processes and its tendency to overlap with provincial fish protection statutes and regulations.

DFO has imposed mitigation measures on hydro power developers that are sometimes disproportionate to the potential environmental improvements that are being sought. The proposed changes to the Fisheries Act offer better clarity and an ability to reduce duplication with provinces. The ultimate implications for hydro power will strongly depend, however, on regulations that are yet to be written. We believe that if sound regulations are adopted, both fish and the hydro power industry will benefit.

We are keen to be engaged in this important future work, in terms of the regulations. We are particularly encouraged that Bill C-38 addresses some major shortcomings in the third piece of legislation we're going to talk about, the Species at Risk Act. Currently, SARA has a five-year limit for an agreement, and a three-year limit for a permit concerning activities affecting listed species or their critical habitat. These limits are out of step with the needs of the hydro power industry, whose facilities operate for decades. In fact, behind this building, on the Ottawa River, lies the oldest hydro power facility in Canada, the Chaudière Falls generating facility, which is over 130 years old.

Clearly, three-year to five-year SARA authorizations are not workable for facilities that can take longer than five years to build and that can operate for more than a century. Any hydro power developer is going to be leery of proceeding with millions or billions of dollars in investments if the authorization expires before construction is even complete.

Bill C-38 allows for longer-term authorizations under SARA. This will be a big improvement, but more needs to be done to improve the act. For example, there is an opportunity for government to enable industry to focus its efforts on activities that more effectively conserve and enhance the population of species. The current act requires us to focus activities on a few individuals of that species instead. This improvement can be done by linking stewardship and conservation agreements with compliance in the act.

In summary, the Canadian Hydropower Association has pleaded for greater efficiency and predictability in the environmental regulatory process for years. Improvements to the regulatory system are clearly required. We see Bill C-38 positively addressing many of the regulatory problems. The proposed improvements will not adversely affect our industry's environmental performance; instead, they will encourage further investment in clean and renewable hydro power. This will help Canada reduce North American greenhouse gases and air pollution.

Thank you, Mr. Chair and committee members.

[Bruce Kirby, Vice-President, Strategy and Business Development, Public Mobile]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman and honourable members. I'll try to be relatively brief.

We're here to support the changes to the legislation that are in Bill C-38.

Capital is critical to building a new wireless company in Canada, as Mr. Wong just said. I can agree with most of what he said. The two key ingredients for creating a competitive environment in the wireless industry are exactly that: capital and spectrum. This is one critical component of improving the situation for capital, to support investment in these companies.

Progress has been made, and I won't get into the debate here on how much has been accomplished on the spectrum side, but certainly in the last auction, through the set-aside, the government created an environment that allowed new entrants. The fact that three of us are sitting here today is an example that that has been an accomplishment. The fact that Vidéotron is operating along with us in Quebec as new entrants is an accomplishment that came about because of that policy.

Capital continues to be important. There's a real challenge in Canada with getting access to risk capital. We have an immature market for capital. It's not just a matter for wireless innovation or wireless investment, but it's a matter of, generally, innovation, the knowledge economy, and IT and broader sectors in Canada. The institutional investors that are very strong in the U.S. and very strong in some other markets are weaker in Canada, for historical reasons. A number of steps are being taken to address that, but a big step that could help in this case, which isn't an issue with some of those other areas, is enabling capital and investment to come in from outside the country, from foreign companies and foreign investors.

That's valuable, because when foreigners invest in new entrants like ours, they invest in Canada. Every single employee of Public Mobile is in Ontario and Quebec. This has nothing to do with the ownership structure. It has to do with the fact that our customers are in Ontario and Quebec, and our networks are in Ontario and Quebec, because that's where our licences are. That will continue independent of who ultimately owns the investment and equity in the company. That's where they're going to stay because that's where our business is and where it happens.

To the extent we're able to attract additional further investment from investors outside the country, that investment is coming in to provide jobs and to build infrastructure in Ontario and Quebec, where we operate today. That is all to the benefit of Canada, independent of who ultimately owns the company. It is something that is not only bringing more competition to Canadians and more choice to Canadian consumers, but is bringing additional jobs and so on to Canada, all of which is a benefit to Canada.

I always find it fascinating when Bell says this is bad because all these scary things will happen. Bell opposed competition in long distance because it would be bad for Canadians. They opposed competition in local because it would be bad for Canadians. They opposed steps to improve Internet access by competition because it would be bad for Canadians. They opposed setting aside spectrum in the last auction because it would be bad for Canadians. They opposed using caps to improve access to spectrum in the auction coming up because it would bad for Canadians. They've opposed better access to foreign capital for small or new entrants because they say it would be bad for Canadians.

In every case they have failed, and ultimately, the outcome has been good for Canadians, in the sense that in all those sectors, there has been more competition, better pricing, more options for Canadians, and, ultimately, more employment with new entrants that have come into these markets.

For all those reasons I think the bill should be supported as it stands.

[Jacob Irving, President, Canadian Hydropower Association]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

My name is Jacob Irving, and I am the President of the Canadian Hydropower Association. Joining me is Ed Wojczynski of Manitoba Hydro, the chair of our association's board of directors.

The CHA is the national voice for hydro power in Canada. We represent generators, manufacturers, engineering firms, consultants, and construction companies.

Sixty per cent of our electricity is hydro power. Canada is the third largest producer in the world. This makes our electricity system one of the cleanest and most renewable anywhere. As big as we are, we could still more than double our current hydro power capacity, and that potential is spread across every region of the country. It is truly a national resource.

Through hydro power, Canadians have an outstanding opportunity to fight air pollution and climate change while securing our sustainable energy future. Today we'll focus on how Bill C-38 can contribute to that future.

Hydro power facilities can be small or large. Many can be very large indeed. For example, the January edition of ReNew magazine reported that four of the five largest infrastructure projects in Canada are hydro power projects.

According to a recent study we conducted with the University of Montreal, hydro power developers are contemplating investing more than $125 billion in Canada over the next 20 years. This new capacity would help satisfy domestic and export demand. The study estimates it would also create over a million new person-years of employment across the country.

To make these investments with confidence, the hydro power industry needs regulatory efficiency and predictability. Unfortunately, the current federal environmental assessment and authorization regime cannot adequately provide this. I believe you'll find that our message to you today is consistent with what we have been saying about regulatory reform for many years.

Our projects undergo federal EAs and must secure authorizations under other federal statutes, while at the same time dealing with provincial EAs. The result is duplication, delay, and uncertainty. This can discourage investors from supporting renewable electricity in Canada.

An important commercial advantage for hydro power is its very low operating cost. However, its upfront capital costs are relatively large. Hydro power investors are especially sensitive to delays and uncertainty because they must commit substantial capital well before revenues can be generated.

Please though, do not misread me or the CHA members. Environmental stewardship is a priority for our industry. We support a strong and robust EA process, and we support the protection of fish and the recovery of species at risk. We are not asking for a weakening of environmental protection. Hydro power has grown up alongside environmental regulation and environmental regulation has grown up alongside hydro power. Our extensive experience and long-term perspective make us want a healthy and effective regulatory process. This is good for the environment, our industry, and Canada.

We strongly believe that we must continuously work toward social acceptability in our activities. Our members strive to earn this acceptance through hard work with aboriginal and other communities. We also reach out to a wider range of stakeholders, including environmental groups. We start consulting long before any formal EA process begins.

We believe all stakeholders would benefit from an efficient, timely, predictable, and consistent federal EA and authorization regime that also works smoothly with provincial EA processes and environmental regulations.

Bill C-38 is helpful in addressing many of these issues.

At this point I would like to call on CHA chair Ed Wojczynski to continue our presentation.

[The Chair, Conservative, Blaine Calkins]

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.

We are starting a few minutes late already, in a very lengthy committee meeting, so I would like to call witnesses and members of the committee to order right now.

This is meeting number 4 of the Subcommittee on Bill C-38 of the Standing Committee on Finance.

Mr. Anderson has a point of order, but just let me finish introducing the meeting.

This is our fourth meeting, and our witnesses today are Mr. Jake Irving, from the Canadian Hydropower Association; the Honourable Tom Siddon, former Minister of Fisheries and Oceans; and Pam Schwann from the Saskatchewan Mining Association. From Nature Québec, we have Mr. Christian Simard, and we don't know where he is right now. We also have, from the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, Mr. Jean-François Tremblay, senior assistant deputy minister.

Mr. Anderson.

[Mirko Bibic]

Okay.

It would be a mistake to assume that Canada's national wireless carriers are impervious to such advantages being given to foreign companies. These advantages can and should be avoided, given the thriving competitive market we have in Canada today. There are two ways to achieve this. First, Bill C-38 could be amended to increase levels of permissible foreign direct ownership for all Canadian telecom and broadcasting companies to 49% from the current 20%. Second, at a minimum, the government must adjust its spectrum auction rules to reduce the risk of unintended consequences. This can be achieved by ensuring that all bidders for spectrum are subject to the same spectrum caps when large foreign companies enter the auction, instead of being subject to rules that give those massive foreign companies a 2:1 spectrum cap advantage.

All Canadians benefit from a strong and innovative Canadian-owned communications industry. To give large foreign companies special advantages over our own puts this at risk and that is neither sound public policy nor in the public interest.

Thank you.

[Mirko Bibic, Executive Vice-President, Chief Legal and Regulatory Officer, BCE Inc. and Bell Canada]

Good evening, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee.

Thank you for this opportunity to present Bell Canada's views on Bill C-38.

The government has said these changes, along with the proposed rules for the next spectrum auction, have three objectives. First, sustained competition in wireless telecommunications services. Second, robust investment and innovation in this sector. And third, availability of advanced services for all Canadians, including those in rural areas, in a timely manner.

Canada's wireless industry is admired around the world. We have three major national carriers with the scale to offer advanced wireless services, including the latest HSPA-plus and LTE technologies, to 97% of Canadians from coast to coast to coast. Counting the new entrants, many of whom are here today, major Canadian cities such as Toronto, Montreal, and Edmonton have no fewer than five wireless providers and up to 11 different brands to choose from. Even the U.S. can't claim such a level of competition, and the same is true of most other countries. In fact, Bell's service plans for the Apple iPhone and the Apple iPad are cheaper than AT&T's.

Another major reason Canada is a world leader is the almost $20 billion in wireless capital expenditures Bell, Rogers, and Telus have invested since 2003, generating more than $40 billion in total economic value annually and employment for almost 300,000 Canadians.

As to coverage, consider this: P.E.I. received 4G high-speed wireless services in 2009, before Chicago. It's no wonder many countries view Canada's wireless industry with envy.

Many countries also have a similar opinion of Canada's banking system, and we now take great pride in that, but there was a time not so long ago when many thought we had serious problems with our banks. Recent history has proven those views incorrect.

The same is true of our wireless industry, so Bill C-38 is a solution in search of a problem. Coupled with aspects of the proposed spectrum auction rules, it opens a Pandora's box of unintended consequences, including negative impacts on Canadian consumers, especially in rural areas.

Under Bill C-38, all foreign ownership restrictions would be lifted on telecom carriers with less than a 10% share of national telecom revenues. This will create a two-tier capital structure in Canada's telecom market, with one set of rules applying only to Bell, Rogers, and Telus, and another applying to all our competitors, including recent domestic entrants or foreign companies seeking to enter. These changes, together with the proposed auction rules, clear the way for any foreign giant to acquire two blocks of prime 700 MHz spectrum, while Canada's national carriers, those that invest billions in all areas of the country, urban and rural, are limited to just one block.

What does Canada get in return? Can you imagine the U.S. government ever allowing Bell Canada to have a more privileged access to the U.S. spectrum than companies like AT&T and Verizon? Can you imagine the U.S. ever implementing a two-tier capital structure that gives special advantages to foreign companies over domestic carriers? I don't think we can—yet that's exactly what Bill C-38 and the auction rules will do here in Canada.

Foreign companies that enter will be able to skim the cream from Canada's largest, most lucrative markets. Will executives in Texas or Germany invest first in Edmonton, Canada's fifth-largest market, or Phoenix, the fifth-largest in the U.S., with twice the population; Hamilton, Canada's eighth-largest market, or San Diego, the eighth-largest market in the U.S., with more than twice the population; or Rimouski, Canada's 72nd largest market, rather than Buffalo, the 70th largest in the U.S., with almost eight times the population?

Worse still, these entrants will have no obligation to serve rural areas.

Opposition Motion—Cooperatives

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the cutbacks are not only affecting co-operatives.

For example, ACOA, which is responsible for economic development in the Atlantic regions, had its budget cut by $18 million. There may have been investments in co-operatives, but now that $18 million has been cut from the ACOA budget—and with the cutbacks to economic development in every region of the Atlantic—how can the member say that his government is going to do the right thing in the future? Bill C-38 proposes an $18 million cutback to regional economic development.

[Anne Minh-Thu Quach, NDP, Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC]

Thank you.

On May 8, 2012, that is to say in the most recent report, you stated that there were several contaminated sites and that this was due to the lack of environmental assessments.

In your opinion, what impact will the reduction in the number of environmental assessments in Bill C-38 have on the issue of contaminated sites?

[Anne Minh-Thu Quach, NDP, Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC]

Do you think that Bill C-38 is going to solve that coordination issue?

[Anne Minh-Thu Quach, NDP, Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC]

Indeed.

Bill C-38 also indicates that environmental assessments will be reduced because of jurisdictional overlaps that make the process too long. Do you think that is the case?

[Anne Minh-Thu Quach, NDP, Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I thank the witnesses for being here.

My first questions are addressed to the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Mr. Vaughan.

You stated that your 2009 report pointed to several environmental assessment gaps, especially with regard to screenings. You said on this that in 75% of cases, there was little evidence that recommended mitigation measures for projects were actually completed.

Do you think that Bill C-38, which reduces the number of environmental assessments, will be bridging the gaps pointed out in 2009?

[Stella Ambler, Conservative, Mississauga South, ON]

Thank you. I appreciate that.

Mr. Bonnett, your organization has stated that:

Canadian farmers have...faced regulatory uncertainty regarding the management of drainage ditches and irrigation canals on their land, so the proposed changes are a positive development for the agricultural community. Farmers rely on the proper maintenance of drainage ditches to ensure their farms remain productive and viable but the Fisheries Act did not recognize this.

This is from a news release approximately a month ago.

How would the changes in part 3 of Bill C-38 affect your stakeholders' ability to create and improve habitat? What types of difficulties, setbacks, or holdups have your members encountered when dealing with the Fisheries Act?

[Stella Ambler, Conservative, Mississauga South, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to all of our witnesses who are here this evening.

Chief Jules, I wanted to talk to you about one of the four key pillars of the responsible resource development plan in Bill C-38, which is to strengthen consultation with aboriginal Canadians. We want to better integrate the consultation process with aboriginals by designating a lead department or agency to be the point agency, or the federal coordinator, for all projects. How will it help aboriginal communities to have one point of contact during the consultation process rather than having to repeat the same message to many different departments?

Restoring Rail Service Act

[Kellie Leitch, Conservative, Simcoe—Grey, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Statistics Canada figures confirm that in April of this year employment increased by 58,000, mostly in full-time work. This was the second consecutive month of notable gains on the jobs front for Canadians. Moreover, confidence among Canada's business leaders, a leading indicator for future economic growth in job creation, edged up in the first quarter of 2012. According to The Conference Board of Canada, business leaders showed increasing optimism over the future performance of their firms and the Canadian economy.

We can add to these glowing statistics the support for our economy contained in the Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act recently introduced by the Minister of Finance. As a result of our government's efforts, Canada has an economy that is the envy of many other countries in the western world. At a time of global financial uncertainty, at a time when sluggish world demand is impeding job growth, why would we allow anything within the boundaries of our own country to jeopardize our economic prospects? Why would we deliberately undo the good work that has protected our economy so far?

Canadian Pacific Railway is one of the iconic components of Canada's vast transportation system. Founded in 1881, the railway itself is a phenomenal engineering feat. It is one of the reasons we exist as a nation, uniting Canada from coast to coast.

In the 21st century CP Rail remains a crucial player in Canada's economy. Each year CP Rail moves freight in Canada valued at approximately $50 billion. According to Transport Canada, CP Rail annually carries about $11.1 billion worth of grain, $5 billion of potash and $5.25 billion of coal.

I would like to tell the House how the CP Rail work stoppage is harming Canadian businesses. In October 2009 the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management report estimated that four key Canadian bulk shipping industries, oilseed and grain farming, coal mining, wood products manufacturing, and pulp and paper and paper products manufacturing contribute more than $81 billion to the Canadian GDP each year and account for close to 1 million jobs.

I find it staggering to contemplate the losses these four sectors of our economy will suffer as a result of the disruption in CP Rail shipping services. These services are very essential for these key sectors of our economy.

It is no mere metaphor to describe CP Rail's 22,000 kilometre network as a lifeline of our nation's economy. Moreover, its capacity for facilitating trade within Canada and other nations is enormous. This is a rail network that operates in six provinces and 13 states. It extends to the U.S. industrial centres of Chicago, Newark, Philadelphia, Washington, New York and Buffalo. Agreements with other carriers extend CP's market reach east of Montreal within Canada, and throughout the United States and into Mexico. By moving freight to and from Canada's west coast ports, CP Rail is also a vital link to the markets in Asia through the Asia-Pacific gateway.

This work stoppage is preventing our ability to keep products moving in and out of Canada and undermines Canada's reputation as a reliable place to do business. This is a setback from which it could take years to recover lost business and lost investments. Is the House prepared to stand by and allow a vast number of Canadian businesses to continue to be harmed as a result of the CP Rail work stoppage? As with any company, every lost day of business could weaken a firm that is already coping with reduced revenues.

A rail work stoppage has created an unsettling business climate. Businesses do not like uncertainty. When businesses do not feel confident about the future, they may postpone opportunities to expand, or change their shipping suppliers altogether. They may even lay off some of their employees. At a time when we want to build jobs and nurture our economic recovery, can we actually sustain this risk? Do we want this stoppage at CP Rail to jeopardize our work and achievement to date and put our recovering economy in peril?

The answer must be a resounding no. The time for action must be now. The legislation will end the work stoppage at CP Rail and provide the parties with an interest-based arbitration process to help them resolve their outstanding issues. The failure to reach a collective agreement has not been for lack of trying. The Government of Canada has done its utmost throughout the negotiation process to encourage the parties to reach an agreement. However, despite assistance from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the parties have been unable to resolve their differences.

I would like to take this opportunity to commend the Minister of Labour and the mediators and conciliatory officers from the labour program for their efforts to assist the parties under the Canada Labour Code.

Canadians can take pride in the fact that 94% of labour negotiations in this country are settled without a work stoppage ever taking place when the labour program's professional mediators and conciliatory officers get involved. This would definitely be the preferred option for resolving the disputes under consideration today. Sadly, this preferred option is not one that was chosen for this dispute between CP Rail and its running trades employees and rail traffic controllers.

I will emphasize again that intervening in these disputes is not the option we would choose if circumstances were otherwise. The Minister of Labour always encourages parties to work together to find mutual solutions to their differences. Most regrettably, it would seem that the will to come together for such a resolution does not exist with the parties in this case.

Our government fully recognizes that free collective bargaining is the basis for sound industrial relations. This is also clearly stated in the preamble of the Canada Labour Code. That code gives the parties the right to strike and lock out. Intervention is only in situations when the public interest is negatively affected. This is true, for example, when the national economy is affected by a work stoppage, as it is in this case.

Let us keep the statistics that are crucial in mind. CP Rail handles 74% of potash containers, 57% of wheat containers, 53% of coal and 39% of other containers in this country.

I would like the House to reflect on just a few questions. First, can we afford to let Canadian businesses and our economy continue to suffer? Second, can we let down the people of Canada who are counting on us to act? Third, can we deliberately undermine our enviable position of being one of the few nations in the western world to weather the global economic downturn?

To my mind, the answers to these questions are self-evident and that is why we must act now. I urge the members of this House to join me in doing the right thing. Let us give our full support to Bill C-39 to protect our economy.