Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak on Bill C-22 which is the Liberal government response to the Pearson airport fiasco it inherited from the previous government.
We all know that over the last number of years the previous government tried to address itself to the cost and administration of regional airports in this country. One of the things it tried to do was follow through on a different policy regarding its budget management by setting up local airport authorities and quasi-independent authorities.
The administration and financing of airports were moved off the government's balance sheet and therefore away from the government's deficit. This allowed these independent authorities to borrow on their own although the loans were guaranteed by the federal government. Because the federal government guarantees a loan it allows them to avoid bringing forth documents to show that the budget would have been that much larger, yet the amount of money borrowed by the government and its institutions would nonetheless remain the same.
This was part of the smoke and mirrors used by the previous government to deceive the Canadian public as to the true situation of this country's finances. The previous government should be ashamed of that approach. Of course the election showed that Canadians had lost complete faith in its approach to the situation.
Because of the magnitude of Pearson airport and because it was the only profitable airport in the country, the Conservatives decided they would take a different approach. They entered into negotiations which were behind the scenes and not public tender to lease, sell and give away property belonging to the taxpayers.
It seems ironic they would choose their friends and those of other political parties to come forth and negotiate with the government behind the scenes. The agreement would allow them to take charge of one of the prime federal assets in this country, hundreds of acres of property close to downtown Toronto. They would have a sweetheart lease on it for many years which guaranteed them income, all at the taxpayers' expense.
When the situation blew up in their faces during the last election this government decided it was time to do something about it and said to stop the deal from going forward. Of course the government did not heed the cries and concerns of the electorate and the last government in its dying days signed a deal.
Now we have the present government's response to that in Bill C-22. It is going to kill the deal signed by the former federal government. It was a sad day for Canada, for government and for administration in this country when the previous government entered into the contract. However, it is an equally sad day when the government presents Bill C-22 in which it is going to use its force and power to override a signed agreement.
The phrase force majeure means if someone of a higher authority exerts their power to kill a legitimate transaction that is already in agreement, it is perfectly acceptable in law. But when the federal government enters into a transaction with the private sector and then changes its mind, no one in the private sector can do that without recourse. Nonetheless the federal government has used its power, the ultimate power in this country, to cancel the agreement which has already been signed.
Our position in the Reform Party is that we do not like the bill. It gives compensation to some people who knew that the Canadian taxpayer disagreed and knew the Canadian taxpayer was being taken to the cleaners in this situation. We do not like the bill because the minister, in the sum of millions of dollars to be determined, is going to compensate them for the costs they incurred in the negotiations on this contract. They knew it was contrary to public policy and contrary to the desires and benefits
of the Canadian taxpayer. Now they feel they are entitled to compensation because they entered into that type of a negotiation.
The taxpayer is being taken to the cleaners. The Canadian taxpayer is being insulted by this bill. In our opinion the people on the other side should not be entitled to any compensation whatsoever. They knew when they signed the contract there was a very good chance if the Liberals won the election that the contract would be gone. For them to wait another week or two for the outcome of the election would have prevented them from being in a position to claim any money from the government whatsoever.
Therefore, being responsible to the taxpayers and being concerned about taxpayers' money, our position is that this bill should be defeated and voted down. No compensation whatsoever should be paid to the group that signed the lease.
I mentioned on a wider topic that the whole local airport authority concept as it was envisaged by the previous government was an attempt to move some borrowing off the balance sheet and off the budget. We disagree with that as well. The Auditor General has looked at these situations over the past number of years. He has been quite critical of the way the government has approached the method of financing and administration of the airports.
It is time this government that is so new in its mandate decided to review the whole area of administration and financing of this country's airports. It should develop a clear, concise policy to ensure this type of boondoggle does not happen again, to ensure that the taxpayers are respected and that their money is spent wisely and fairly for the benefit of all Canadians in the transfer of people moving around in this country.
That is the position of the Reform Party. I hope that the government will take that into serious consideration and if this bill does go forward, when it comes time to negotiate with the other parties that the amount is kept if not to nil, to an absolute minimum.