Mr. Speaker, I will conclude by repeating the remarks I was making concerning the establishment of a coast guard fee structure.
Before the ink has even dried on this internal trade agreement, supposedly designed to stimulate commercial activity, hence strengthening economic and trade ties between various parts of Canada, a fee structure is imposed by the coast guard for services provided by ships operating in Canadian waters, which will only create division at a time when efforts are made to effect economic unification once and for all. As a result, three main regions will be created-the western region, the central region and the maritimes-with three completely different tariffs. This in itself flies in the face of the political will expressed at the time the agreement was signed.
This goes to show how difficult it is to run this country-it is a virtually impossible task-and the lack of a cooperative spirit.
In conclusion, one can say without fear of being mistaken that the federal government is dealing a blow to Quebec, to the people living along the St. Lawrence, to all the ports along the St. Lawrence, where 85 per cent of Quebecers live, without consulting even the most influential of stakeholders, who come from the City of Montreal, for example, from the entire urban community in both Montreal and Quebec City, who made representations again last week, in addition to the private users who came to testify and the representatives of aluminum plants and logging operations.
They told the government: "Do not impede our ability to compete with foreigners". The government retreated into silence and arbitrary measures. They continued in that direction, deciding last Thursday to impose the first stage in the new fee schedule, $20 million, and in the process sacrificing the political will that was supposed to exist in this agreement.
In spite of the fact that there was no real consultation, and this was strongly criticized, the minister is relying on a study called IBI, which is in fact a survey. This study was condemned by all those who appeared before the committee. Of 49 witnesses, 37 asked for a moratorium, so that the situation can be examined to find out once and for all the economic impact of this measure on users and to make a true description of services provided to users, given that the government wants to tax them. Make no mistake about it: this is a tax. It must also be demonstrated that the Coast Guard did undergo a self-imposed streamlining exercise, as it claims to have done, given that the majority of the witnesses doubt that this is the case.
In conclusion, signing this agreement and imposing this new fee structure both confirm, yet again, this government's lack of vision.