Mr. Speaker, yesterday, I made a speech during the debate on Bill C-27, and you were in the chair. I had the opportunity to thank the Minister of Justice for presenting a bill aimed at the protection of women and children. While the bill does not go far enough, it is nonetheless a step in the right direction.
Unfortunately, today, I will not congratulate the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans for what he intends to do with the bill we are studying.
On the trade scene, it seems that the present government set a course that it is following without any deviation and whose objective is to penalize Quebec, to weaken it economically.
Just think about the research and development policy which the Tokamak project illustrates very well, think about the GST, the helicopter contract, the fisheries, the agriculture, the raw milk cheese. Each and every time, Quebec is penalized. It is as though the government had deliberately made the decision to impoverish Quebec and to put it on its knees.
Every time the government makes a decision that goes against Quebec's interests, the Bloc denounces it. That is what we have done in the last few months with the maritime services fee structure. I take the opportunity to congratulate my colleague from Gaspé for the energy and the expertise he is showing in this debate.
Why is the Bloc Quebecois opposed to Bill C-26? After hearing several of my colleagues I think that you probably begin to understand, but I will explain it again for those who may not have understood as well as you and for those who are watching us on television. Why should Bill C-26 be rejected?
These reasons are stated in the dissenting opinion released by the official opposition as an appendix to the report of the fisheries and oceans committee, a committee that heard witnesses, 75 per cent of whom agreed with the Bloc's dissenting opinion.
I will review the most important elements. First of all, the vast majority of witnesses who appeared before the committee asked for a one-year moratorium to allow the government to conduct comprehensive and independent economic impact studies in co-operation with the industry.
Even though this recommendation was perfectly reasonable, the government chose to ignore it completely. That is why I and my colleagues in the Bloc Quebecois are taking an active part in this debate today. Why will the minister not budge? It seems that it is because of budgetary requirements imposed by the Minister of Finance that must be respected, regardless of the resulting inequities.
We can only condemn this reaction by the minister. He had a golden opportunity to work with the people directly affected by the new policy, who were glad to contribute to the cost of the services they receive, but who were simply asking the minister to take a serious look at the impacts the new policy would have on the industry. Forget it. Once again, we were not listened to. I hope they pay the price later on.
The second reason is that by establishing three different areas, the Laurentian area, including the St. Lawrence and the Great Lakes, the West and the East, with rules having different impacts for each area, the government is penalizing, that is right, you guessed it, the St. Lawrence.
The third reason is that, as part of the second round of budgetary measures announced, the government had to rationalize the cost of the Coast Guard. But, according to the witnesses heard, the government has simply not done its homework. We therefore find ourselves in the situation where, instead of rationalizing its staff, the government is imposing tariffs on the industry and thus jeopardizing not only the industry but the jobs that depend on it. Is this good management? It makes no sense at all.
The question is would the government have reacted so hastily in another situation where the economic interests of a region other than Quebec were at stake? I think not.
One final reason the Bloc Quebecois is rejecting Bill C-26 is that the government has not given users a chance to give input on the relevance and effectiveness of services for which they will have to pay, and, subsequent to that, to comment on the method used to charge for these services. In short, the government has behaved like a dictator, with complete disregard for the economic interests of the industry and of the people affected by its decisions.
This is unacceptable. As the member for Québec, I would like to make the House aware of the importance of the marine industry for the economic life of my riding, and of the negative impact the implementation of Bill C-29 will have on it. First, some statistics: the Quebec City harbour, in my riding, accounts for 6,450 full time jobs, 123 businesses dependant on the marine industry, and $352 million in economic spinoffs. This is the reason why I am getting involved in this matter.
Quebec City harbour, in my riding, will be penalized by the new fees levied by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans. Several leading figures in the marine sector mentioned this to me and asked me to rise today in the House and defend the economic interests of my riding.
This bill jeopardizes hundreds of jobs. As a result of this bill, the cost of sailing through the St. Lawrence will rise significantly.
Mr. Ross Gaudreault, the CEO of Quebec City harbour, believes that the fees could result in a cost increase of 80 cents a tonne for shippers. He fears that this increase will drive exporters to chose alternate harbours either on the eastern or western United States. This is the reason why we are worried.
Mr. Gaudreault is not the only one to fear such a possibility. The Quebec Minister of Transport, the mayors of Quebec City and Charlesbourg, the St. Lawrence Maritime Chamber, the Ship Operators' Association, the Forest Industry Association and business leaders have all reacted negatively to the minister's plan. These are intelligent people who are able to analyze the kind of project that is proposed and to say it will be a disaster for the whole economic and marine life in the St. Lawrence River.
This bill is unfair for Québec and it is unfair for industry. It is unfair for the people of my county and for the people of other ports along the St. Lawrence River. It is unfair because it fails to take into account the economic reality of the region. It is a bill based on the division of Canada because of the inequality within the fee system. This measure puts the competitiveness of St.Lawrence River harbours at risk.
I hope the government will finally listen to the stakeholders, impose a moratorium before it decides on the new fee system and see what this measure puts at risk. Why push the adoption of bill when there will no ice this summer. As my colleague said, why not wait until fall to have time to shed some light on this bill?
I do not congratulate the minister of Minister of Fisheries and Oceans. It is too bad. I would have liked to congratulate him this evening. I like to be generous when I speak in the House and I like to say it when people do something good. But I think their ears are blocked and they cannot hear the Bloc members' propositions.