Mr. Speaker, I will defend Motions Nos. 57 to 65 together. They have the same purpose, are related to clauses 147 to 155 and are not intended to amend them. The sole purpose of the motions is to delete these clauses from the bill.
These provisions are back, with special benefits for Western grain transportation. We are opposed to such benefits. Let us remember that just a few days ago, in this House, the hon. member for Frontenac expressed his disagreement with the fact that dairy subsidies had been eliminated, with no compensation for dairy producers, while the same had not been the case for Western grain transportation and production.
These clauses deal with the introduction of a maximum rate and special conditions for the transportation of Western grain. These provisions were introduced in the 1987 legislation, when the Western Grain Transportation Act, the so-called WGTA, was repealed and the subsidy eliminated. But Western farmers were generously compensated, to the tune of close to $3 billion, for the elimination of the subsidy and the WGTA. In this bill, the government is reintroducing the provisions introduced in the 1987 legislation.
Western farmers have been very well compensated, unlike their counterparts in Quebec, as I have just mentioned. They should therefore be able to cope with the new conditions for transportation in the West, and to adapt to a rail system operating on a strictly commercial basis, as is the case here.
Treating Eastern and Western shippers on an unequal footing can only result in an inequitable development of the rail system by adversely affecting the resources that shippers in the Eastern network can invest. It is for these reasons that we are asking that these clauses be deleted from the bill.