Mr. Speaker, as I always do, I sat in my place and listened to all the members opposite give their representations. Therefore, I will take this opportunity to make a comment rather than to ask a question.
I want to respond to the hon. member who just spoke and, as an aside, respond to members opposite, especially the member of the New Democratic Party who addressed the issue of delegation of ship inspections to a classification society. I want to respond to her concerns and the concerns of her party, even though the NDP is the only party in this place which will oppose the bill. The hon. member had an opportunity both in committee and here today to bring forward a constructive amendment, but there was no amendment. However, the NDP is still going to oppose the bill. It is rather confusing, but I guess they can oppose for opposition's sake.
I want to make it clear to the hon. member and her party that the objectives of the Canada Shipping Act make it clear that the Minister of Transport is responsible for all matters relating to marine safety involving commercial ships. In order to achieve these objectives the minister is authorized to enter into agreements respecting the administration of any provision of the Canada Shipping Act or the regulations. The minister can authorize any person with whom an agreement or arrangement is entered into to exercise and perform such powers and duties under the act as are specified in the agreement or the arrangement.
The proposed provisions in the bill are consistent with this authority and in no way—and I speak directly to the NDP member—undermine the overall safety of the marine community. Given that the minister is delegating this authority to organizations such as classification societies which will conduct inspections on behalf of the minister, the minister must be satisfied that the delegated party is qualified to perform the assigned duties. The minister will only delegate responsibilities to qualified organizations or persons.
Classification societies are international, not for profit organizations that provide ship survey expertise around the world and, as such, Transport Canada will enter into a memorandum of understanding with every delegated organization to establish reporting mechanisms and to establish the qualifications required for personnel carrying out the delegated responsibilities.
To ensure adherence to agreements and memoranda, any delegation of authority will be subjected to Transport Canada audit and quality assurance. These organizations or persons will be audited by Transport Canada inspectors through spot checks and documented audits. The department will also conduct inspections on any shipowners suspected of contravening marine safety regulations.
I want to take this opportunity to thank the hon. member from the NDP for her interjection. It is unfortunate that while every party in the House is prepared to support the bill only members of the NDP are not. I hope this latest interjection by myself will maybe change their minds at the end of the day. If it does not and there are no amendments forthcoming, it is rather puzzling.