Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to take a few minutes to speak to this bill, which in my view reveals the federal government's true intentions with regard to the evolution of Canadian federalism.
It seems an obvious response to all those who dream of a decentralized Canada that could, for some federalists, be a response to the legitimate aspirations toward sovereignty of the people of Quebec.
According to one school of thought, Canada could be more decentralized. Since the provincial governments are closer to their constituents, they should have more powers to provide for the welfare of the people.
Here is a bill where the federal government barely recognizes the existence of the provincial governments, putting them on an equal footing with aboriginal communities, coastal communities and other stakeholders, even though this legislation affects directly Canadians from each of the 10 provinces. When one adds that to what it wants to do with the securities commission, the coast guard, etc., one gets a pretty good idea of the government's intentions.
This can also be seen in another aspect of the activity of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, where the government wants to impose a tax on all water equipment. If you have a cottage and if you have the misfortune of owning a pedalboat, a canoe, a rowboat or a sailboard, your pleasure will be diminished from now on because you will have to pay a $5 to $35 tax to the federal government for this equipment. And all that without any direct involvement of or consultation with the provincial governments. The federal government intends to establish partnerships with all kinds of regional organizations so it can collect these new revenues. And the excuse-the minister has mentioned it several times already-is public safety, because there have been some drownings. Well, of course, when you are around water, there may be drownings every year.
It is hard to disagree, all the more so because public safety is the only argument the government has really used to justify slapping another tax on the humble citizen in his pursuit of recreation, not being sure it could count on those whose boats truly qualify as pleasure craft, with all the costs that these entail, when you are talking about boats 20, 30, 40 or 50 feet long that must have a captain on board, and knowing that this falls in the private domain. Personally, I would be curious to know how these people actually are taxed, how they do their bit for the national treasury, when we know that the reason the operation concerning pleasure boats is so extensive is to ensure that the tax man gets his bite.
To get back to my premise, I would just like to say that the very fact that the federal government is going ahead in this way is a complete contradiction, and should sound a warning among English Canadians, who are wondering what to do about the rising tide of sovereignists. Despite what some people might think, I do not
think that right now in Ottawa, in the Langevin Block, there is the will to decentralize the Canadian federation. There is an increasingly obvious desire to see that the real decisions are taken here in Ottawa.
That may be fine for Canadians, because it seems that English Canadians' primary sense of loyalty is to the federal government, in a proportion, compared to Quebec, of 20-80 according to our information. Twenty per cent of English Canadians say that their first loyalty is to their provincial government, and 80 per cent say that it is to the federal government. In Quebec, the percentages are reversed: 20 per cent to the federal government, and 80 per cent to the Government of Quebec.
So, that is all very fine and well, a form of decentralization which is only a dream at the moment, because there is no actual sign of it. But in the case of Quebec, if they ever manage to decentralize the Canadian federation, it will be contrary to the profound aspirations of the people of Quebec, who are turning, and this is becoming increasingly clear, unanimously, legitimately and ever more decisively, in the direction of sovereignty, that is to say partnership, the fairest, the most legitimate, the most harmonious and undoubtedly the most cost effective direction for Canada and Quebec in an economic partnership that respects both political entities.