Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to speak to Bill C-44 at report stage.
I should point out that Bill C-44 is the result of the extreme frustration caused over the past 30 years by the lack of effectiveness of Canada's marine policy. The bill before us today is aimed at giving local authorities a greater say in the way port facilities are managed; for the longest time the federal government believed it could run ports across Canada from afar.
Bill C-44 now before us has been completely reworked. At report stage, we managed to get some significant improvements. We will recall the victory of seaway pilots, who were able to show how crucial it was to put safety first, and prove, thanks to their excellent presentation highlighting seaway safety, that the integrity of their job had to be preserved and therefore, that they could not be subjected to management rules that might jeopardize seaway safety.
At the cross-country hearings, we heard testimony from several local authorities asking that federal agency status be granted to national ports. We supported this proposal. At first glance, this might appear surprising on the part of a Quebec sovereignist party, but the rationale is the following: major national ports must be given more opportunities in order to become competitive on the North American market and on the world market. When Quebec becomes sovereign, Quebec ports enjoying this status under federal legislation will retain the same opportunities since the legislation will become law in Quebec. And this is why it is interesting.
During the hearings, many people underscored the need for some flexibility in ensuring that the existing harbour commissions, which are the most advanced form of local management established under the old legislation, can maintain their status or at least continue to operate as they should. There are some interesting elements in that area.
However, one element seems particularly important as far as the objectives of this bill are concerned. Clause 3 of the bill states:
It is hereby declared that the objective of this Act is to
(a) implement a National Marine Policy that provides Canada with the marine infrastructure that it needs and that will promote and safeguard Canada's competitiveness and trade objectives;
The Bloc felt that the bill would be improved by ensuring that the national marine policy makes it possible to achieve the local, regional and national socio-economic objectives, in order to promote and preserve Canada's competitiveness. However, the purpose of our amendment, which seems very reasonable to me, is to strike a balance between competitiveness, which is now part of our system, and free trade, which is invading all areas of activity, so that local, regional and national socio-economic objectives can be taken into account in all regions of Quebec and Canada.
This means that the legislation as a whole must be interpreted in light of this objective of the bill.
If the amendment is accepted, and I ask members on the government side to consider it seriously, it will improve the legislation and go along the line of a number of amendments put forward by the hon. member for Labrador, who suggested we ensure that the situation in remote areas for instance is different from the situation in major centers or in economic circles where there is more free trade within North America.
Underlying this legislation is a desire to transfer responsibility for the facilities to local authorities, but this transfer must take place under acceptable terms. Our Motion No. 5 would ensure that the principle of the legislation's objective is respected.
If the House approves this amendment, it will affect every aspect of the department's operation, the process by which the decision is made for instance to effect the divesting of ports or by which funds are allocated to wharf repair, whether on a ferry wharf like the one in Rivière-du-Loup or wharves with a more commercial use like the one in Cacouna, in my riding, or in Trois-Pistoles, or repairs on certain port facilities no longer used for what they were originally designed for. There are many good examples of this in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Since the Saguenay St. Lawrence Marine Park was established, many lighter port facilities need to be overhauled to give access to the river in support of the jewel of tourism this park will become.
By including this requirement to meet local, regional and national social and economic objectives in the legislation, we will ensure an essential balance.
It is also important to ensure that, when this bill is implemented, sufficient funding is provided to effect the divesting because, at present, every operation whereby responsibility is transferred to local authorities is permeated by the fear that the funding required to perform the function will not be transferred along with the responsibilities. This does not necessarily occur in transfers made in an effort to decentralize.
If it keeps improving at this rate, Bill C-44 could well achieve a large consensus in this House.
Unfortunately, for the time being, there are still flaws and the government will have to deal with them. I mentioned one, but there are others which are addressed in the proposed amendments.
One of the amendments proposed by the Bloc Quebecois deals with the need to recognize, as a Canadian port authority, facilities such as those of Port Saguenay and Trois-Rivières. These are facilities which, originally, might not have met the specific criteria set out in the legislation.
Through our work in committee, we were able to make sure that these ports can enjoy such status and thus be part of the wide network of national ports, which are vital elements of the transportation infrastructure to promote economic development in Canada. I will conclude by discussing elements of that nature.
For a long time, the whole issue of port management in Canada was essentially the federal government's responsibility, and there are many stories of port facilities that were built a long time ago and then more or less set aside, because they were deemed obsolete. Local communities did not feel these facilities were their own, while the federal government could not assume sole responsibility for them.
The arrival of the Bloc Quebecois in Ottawa helped develop an awareness of the importance of the transportation issue, of the interface with the transportation sector to help diversify regional economies. The reform of port activities is one element of this policy.
We are not yet totally pleased with the bill. I hope the government will recognize the soundness of our amendment. I believe the serious work done by both sides of the House to make this bill as good as possible has already been recognized.
In conclusion, there are still some elements to be corrected, especially the need to ensure that the national maritime policy will not be merely a market-based policy promoting pure competitiveness. The entire Canadian economy must take it into consideration that there are specific characteristics, other criteria to consider, including the economic impact of port facilities. It is not true that a port has the same importance and the same relationship to community development whether it is in Cacouna, Quebec City, Montreal or Thunder Bay.
In my region, we have been aware for the past 15 or 20 years of the importance of finding a way to develop Cacouna's port infrastructure. This project has gone through all of the stages of what might be called the region's political history. With the bill as it is, and with the proposed amendment on government responsibility to make this national maritime policy a tool of regional economic development, if we attain that objective, the federal government will then have to provide the necessary funds for implementation, so that the devolution is done properly.
We will be able to improve the bill in committee and at report stage. Then, when it gets to third reading, we shall see whether amendments might be made to its substance.