Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in this House this evening to speak on this bill. I must confess that I am fresh off the plane. Modern transportation enables us to travel rather quickly from one end of the country to the other.
The important thing to remember about this bill is that 13 groups of motions relate to it. The bill has three parts. The first group of motions deal with the first part of the bill, whose main intent is to incorporate the new law of the sea vocabulary, under the new United Nations convention Canada has not yet signed.
There may be worthwhile elements in there. I caught bits and pieces of the remarks made by the committee's former chairman, and I should perhaps put a couple of things right. We may agree on the need to upgrade certain aspects, but when we have to ask that the provinces' jurisdiction be respected, why is it that it takes them so long to understand?
My reading of the situation is that what is proposed to us in this bill and in the amendments put forward by the Liberals is just diluting the amendments we had discussed at committee, drowning the fish so to speak.
I have nothing against coastal or aboriginal communities or any other persons and bodies concerned with ocean management. Not at all. My point is that this umbrella legislation will have tentacular ramifications. We will see later that the purpose of Part II is to develop a management strategy involving all the various departments.
I would like to have the assurance that the provinces and territories that make up Canada will be heard at the first level of consultation. Why try to dilute this principle?
At this point, I would like to make a short digression. I was not going to raise the issue today, but I was led to do so. We are not trying to talk only about sovereignty and to play politics but, last December, in this House, the other side passed a motion recognizing Quebec as a distinct society. That day, the government wanted to tell us we were different, but when it comes to legislation, it refuses to state clearly that Quebec is a player in the process.
The other provinces may not be interested, or they may not see things the way we do regarding this legislation and how to manage fisheries and waters adjacent to their coasts. This is fine, but why try to take away from us the right to manage these waters and fisheries, the right to take part in this process? I have been wondering about this for two and a half years.
I will always protect and actively promote the interests of Quebecers. I tried to do so through my work on the committee on Bill C-26, but in vain. I do not have it with me, but I even received a letter from our former colleague from the other side, Brian Tobin, concerning this bill, in which he said: "Mr. Bernier, your suggestion regarding a real partnership will be implemented". This was not done.
If Mr. Tobin was sincere-and I believe he was when he made these comments-, and assuming he were still a member of this government, I think he would take into account our proposed amendments. He would be true to his word and he would support these amendments, which only seek to ensure relations between the federal and provincial governments are clearly defined, because this is not currently the case. The provinces are included, but so are other interest groups and it should not be the case. It should not be the case.
Let me give you one last example. About two weeks ago, two or three provinces were involved in the crab fishery dispute. The Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, who is here right now, did nothing. He did not meet with the workers concerned.
Who made an effort to settle the issue? It is the provinces. Quebec met with its workers, and so did New Brunswick. Given such facts, why is it that the federal government does not want to give priority, in an act, to relations with the provinces?
New Brunswick was reluctantly dragged into the crab fishery conflict. From the outset, its fisheries minister said the issue came under federal jurisdiction. It turned out to be a mistake, since people in his riding threw stones at his house when he told them to go back fishing because the minister did not want to budge. The
main thing is that the province was forced to get involved in the conflict, even though the issue came under federal jurisdiction.
New Brunswick had to come up with solutions for its own residents. That is the conclusion drawn by the New Brunswick Minister of Fisheries, who does not agree at all with the sovereignty option I support. According to this minister, the members of the provincial legislative assemblies are closer to the people, they are more aware of the problems; they are also the ones who took the beating this time.
I do not think it will be the last time. More and more often, the people are going to appeal to their MLAs. True, here, in Ottawa, we are a bit out of touch with reality. We are blinded, not sufficiently aware of what is going on in the ridings.
I have always thought that for every local problem there was a local solution. People came up with solutions. There are negotiations under way, but I will not elaborate on this issue for now. All this to show that, in spite of themselves, the provinces must take an active part in management, along with the government which drafted this piece of legislation.
Since we are still part of the federal system, something I have to acknowledge, can we get some recognition? Anyway, we-that is to say the provinces-will have a key role to play. They must report to Ottawa the whys and wherefores of the wishes of their residents. They have to negotiate with Ottawa. They have to ensure that Ottawa has understood. They sometimes have to put their vision against the vision of the other provinces, to ensure that the great legislator in Ottawa will be enlightened when the time comes.
This bill hints at the development of a management strategy. They talk about an integrated oceans management system, with all that it implies, but what we need to do at the outset is to define our position with the provinces, and that is not being done. This is more than just rhetoric, more than a war of words, it is a true statement of the real need to operate this way.
Those who claim to be uninterested in this type of partnership will see their relationship with the federal government unchanged. The first thing we have to realize is that some of the players are different, they have different problems and different needs. I will limit my comments to this group of motions.
I will listen to the debate tonight. I will be here tomorrow if it is still under consideration. As long as the government does not get the message, we will repeat it over and over again.