The government has shown it could be reasonable by agreeing to delete those clauses.
I urge the owners of vessels of this type, including pedal boats, rowboats, sailboards, canoes and kayaks, to watch out, because in the past the government has shown some open-mindedness and withdrawn some clauses, but then sneaked them back into an omnibus bill on a Friday evening when there are fewer MPs in the House, since we are working hard in our ridings. This would not be the first time the government has pulled such a sneaky trick.
I therefore call upon the owners of these vessels, the people who live in the Gaspé, Lower St. Lawrence, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, Lanaudière and Charlevoix regions, where there is a lot of recreational boating, hunting and fishing and where people like to go out for a relaxing paddle and a little fishing after supper with their dogs and children, to be very vigilant.
People in the regions should watch out because the government may be tempted to bring these proposals back again. The 44 members of the Bloc Quebecois have been warned and they too will be vigilant in looking after the interests of Quebeckers.
I have pointed this out to my colleague, the hon. member for Trois-Rivières, who is the Bloc Quebecois critic for the coast guard, as well as to the hon. member for Bonaventure—Gaspé—Îles-de-la-Madeleine, who is our critic for fisheries. He will monitor legislation from Fisheries and Oceans, because the government might try to sneak something back in.
I thank the government and commend the fact it took advantage of Bill C-15 to correct an aberration and an unacceptable situation with respect to the Lower St. Lawrence pilots' pension plan. I thank the government for ensuring that the corporation in question will not be sued or suffer the inconvenience of possible lawsuits.
I thank the government for updating the provisions relating to the Lower St. Lawrence pilots' pension plan. The pilots' minds must be on what they are doing, which is first and foremost marine safety and environmental protection in our waters, and on the St. Lawrence river in particular.
Their minds must also be free to withstand the attacks of St. Lawrence ship owners who keep asking, every 18, 24, 30 or 36 months, that compulsory pilotage be abolished in Canada. We know that the ship owners' lobby is very powerful because of the contributions it makes to the Liberal campaign fund.
To conclude, our party will support this bill at third reading.