Mr. Speaker, no member of the House has worked harder in the cause of facilitating the enforcement of safety rules on the waterways than the hon. member for Parry Sound-Muskoka. I thank him for his help in that regard.
It was through the work of the hon. member that I met with the executive of the Muskoka Lakes Association which brought home to me the urgency of dealing effectively with this matter. As a result, officials in the federal Department of Justice have worked with provincial counterparts to put the provincial schemes and mechanisms for ticketing of offences at the disposal of the federal government through the federal Contraventions Act.
I am pleased to say that next week I intend to introduce legislation which will amend the Contraventions Act federally to enable us to use the provincial mechanisms. This not only allows us to keep the waterways safer and have effective enforcement but it also avoids duplication, overlap and needless expense. It serves to that extent the interests of the people of Canada.