Very low indeed, as the member for Trois-Rivières has pointed out.
Some people are citing the Brander-Smith report, which proposes, because of the shoals in the St. Lawrence, that ships with double hulls be built as quickly as possible. With its usual lack of speed, the Liberal government intended to pass this legislation in 2007, in ten years. In the meantime, what we see sailing past are old tubs, most of them under foreign flags. And we should not be worried.
This is the time to be building new ships. For ten years now they have been warning foreign ships about the 20-year limit, but they are still letting them in. Fortunately, in this instance, we have the senators. For once in their lives, at least, they will have proven their usefulness. The senators are trying to get the government to wake up.
The government also turned a deaf ear when other key players spoke. Last August, at the federal-provincial conference held in St. Andrews, the former premier of New Brunswick told his fellow premiers that action was urgently required. He urged the federal government to take action in the shipping industry. Since his resignation, we have not heard him say anything more about the issue, but still, nothing has been done.
I personally do not approve of using delaying tactics to hold up this bill. What I want is a real bill on a real shipping policy, a real shipbuilding policy. This is what workers want, especially but not exclusively in Quebec.
The hon. member for Saint John moved a similar motion last fall. Each party had one speaker address the issue. Everyone, including the opposition, was in agreement, whether in western Canada or in Ontario. After all, the Great Lakes region is also interested in shipping. The parliamentary secretary comes from that region. I know that he is interested in this.
But what is the government waiting for to establish a true shipping policy, a true shipbuilding policy? It should do like the United States, where $400 million is earmarked every year to replace the U.S. merchant fleet. It should do like most countries of the world, where shipyards get some support because they are considered important.
Shipping is actually the cheapest mode of transportation. If this activity is conducted properly, if measures such as double hulling are taken, we can avoid accidents or incidents, particularly those involving oil. It is the least expensive mode of transportation, and the least dangerous one from an environmental point of view.
However, using old ships to carry oil can have a major environmental impact, if they sink like the Irving Whale . This is why the world fleet must be renewed. Ships entering Canadian waters must be safe. Otherwise, they should get stiff penalties, so that they will think twice before entering our waters and threatening the environmental safety of Canada and of Quebec.
These are the main points I wanted to make on this issue. I will be pleased to answer any questions.