Mr. Speaker, as the hon. parliamentary secretary mentioned, Bill C-15 did not receive much attention in committee from stakeholders.
The general consensus among the people in the marine industry seems to be they would like this legislation passed in order to get it out of the way and do away with any regulatory uncertainty. I do not believe there is any debate on this side of the bill.
There are some non-commercial ramifications, however, to the marine act. As the hon. parliamentary secretary mentioned, in committee we did try to address the very well founded concerns of the millions of citizens who own small boats subject to regulation by DFO.
A section was removed from the bill during the clause by clause examination. This would have permitted the governor in council to require the registration of small boats for a fee. I am very grateful this section is no longer included but under our system almost anything is possible under orders in council, and unamended section 108 of the existing marine act could still be used to achieve that same purpose.
Section 108 has been in place since 1936 and it has not been abused, but this government, unlike any other government in my memory, loves to make regulations, loves registering things and loves to collect fees. It is a disease. It likes to collect fees on firearms, pleasure boats and, who knows, perhaps electric toothbrushes. In any event, we can only maintain an attitude of watchful caution.
A recent DFO publication entitled “Your Safety Comes First” is a classic example of what I am referring to about bureaucracy running amok, the busy work of desk sailors with nothing useful to do. I have had many expressions of concern from people who feel the coast guard has lost its compass and is totally at sea with its intrusive, impractical lists of not dos and don'ts.