Mr. Speaker, I want to thank especially the parliamentary secretary to the House leader for his diligence in co-ordinating what we see as a rational and accepted debate that will take place on Bill C-44. I also want to thank the members opposite in the Reform and Bloc for their co-operation.
It is a great privilege to speak to Bill C-44, the Canada Marine Act, which was reported back to this place by the Standing Committee on Transport.
In December 1995, the Government of Canada published the "National Marine Policy: A Sweeping Strategy for Modernizing the Marine Sector". The policy sets out a clear and cohesive plan of action to help Canada's harbours and ports. The seaway, pilotage operations and ferry services face present and future challenges.
In June 1996, the government introduced Bill C-44, the Canada Marine Act, which is crafted to give full effect to the 1995 policy strategy. It brings business principles to bear on the use and future development of the marine system.
Only a cost effective, affordable system will be sustainable in today's highly competitive environment. The system no longer will be weighed down by costly administrative overhead. Procedural red tape is being cut. Ottawa's involvement in the day to day running of the system will be reduced. Reporting and approval requirements will be streamlined and what remains will be clearly spelled out.
Threaded throughout the Canada Marine Act is the philosophy of commercialization. It is to lighten the load on Canadian taxpayers for provision of the marine service. The proposed legislation will, in no way, compromise the high safety and environmental standards now in place. The rights and interests of all adjacent communities, including First Nations will be respected.
Much has been and will be done to remove subsidies. The cost of services will be shifted to those who benefit most directly. Ports that operate commercially using facilities that were built up at substantial public expense will make modest annual payments back to the taxpayers. Those at the local level who are charged with running the system will be given greater autonomy and freedom to manage. The marine sector is a business and must be as free as possible to operate as one.
Commercialization also means more user say. For business to be viable, it must be responsive to the people it serves. The infrastructure and the resources of the marine system will be better matched to market demand and to real need.
A more cost efficient, businesslike marine sector will enhance opportunities for economic growth and job creation at home and make us more competitive on the world stage. Bill C-44, and the national marine policy on which it was founded, are products of much time and effort by many people.
At this point, I would like to express my sincere thanks on behalf of the government for the efforts of the House Standing Committee on Transport. The standing committee's role was invaluable in shaping, first, the national marine policy and today, the Canada Marine Act.
I had the honour to chair the House Standing Committee on Transport when we formulated the national marine policy. On September 26, 1996, in my new role as parliamentary secretary, I witnessed the participation of the Minister of Transport who requested that the committee focus on some key issues that already had been raised by stakeholders in discussions since the introduction of the bill last June.
The four issues that he put on the table for attention were: crown agent status, the capacity and power of port authorities, the tax status of ports, and port governance structures.
The standing committee then travelled across Canada again so that everyone with an interest had the opportunity to shape the bill. Provinces, communities, industries, managers, unions, members of the public, all took the time to record their views with the Standing Committee on Transport. All are to be commended.
Not all the viewpoints could be reconciled with each other nor to the policy direction that helped shape the bill. However, the standing committee has reported changes to the bill that strengthen it, while striking an appropriate and objective balance.
The structure of the new Canada port authorities has to reflect our best view of how we want our national system of ports to operate. On one hand, there is a need for modern ports to have freedom to manage in order to meet user need and to stay competitive. On the other hand, there is the awareness that while ports are important economic generators in the economy, they also perform something of a public function. For this reason, they enjoy certain special privileges compared to other businesses and need a higher standard of public accountability for their operations.
After considering the many views on these issues, the standing committee determined that a number of changes were needed in management structure and operating conditions for our new port authorities.
The government supports the changes in this area brought forward by the standing committee. I will single out only three of them to mention the impact they will have. For better manageability and efficiency, the size of the governing board is now permitted to be as few as seven, compared to the previous minimum of nine directors. This does not compromise the objective of maintaining a user majority on the board.
To ensure adequate continuity, the chairperson's term of office is increased from one to two years and the limitation of only one re-appointment is removed. To clarify that ports will have status as government institutions in their international dealings, port authorities now are declared to have crown agent status. These three changes illustrate that the standing committee has listened very carefully and has struck an equitable balance among sometimes very divergent interests.
This government said at the outset that it was flexible and open to constructive suggestions for making the legislation better. The standing committee has formulated more than 100 changes, some of a substantive nature, plus many more that represent a technical fine tuning of the bill to make the legislation more practical, clearer and more user responsive.
In the same spirit of continuous improvement, we have been able to identify some additional changes that would make it better for a more workable bill. We have submitted these changes for consideration by all members of the House. I am privileged on behalf of the government to speak to this bill. We have here a bill that ensures a more effective marine sector to the benefit of all Canadians. The Canada Marine Act will play an important part in the government's overall strategy to move the national transportation system forward into the 21st century. I look forward to hearing the interventions from my colleagues on this side and the members opposite.