Indeed, it is flying very low.
Having international travellers make a stopover in Canada would have a significant economic impact.
Earlier we talked about free trade. Thank God we signed free trade agreements that opened doors for us.
As I said at second reading of this bill, let us not forget that this does a service to Americans. We must not overlook this fact. For quite some time now we have been telling Americans “Let us facilitate the movement of people from this country”. We have been telling them “If ever undesirables want to enter the United States”—very few of them Canadians, of course, but people from elsewhere—“they will be arrested before they even set foot on U.S. territory”.
This is another thing preclearance does. It has advantages for Canada and advantages for the United States. They tell us “Before entering the United States, travellers from all over will be stopping over in your country. You will have the economic advantage, but we will have an advantage too. If they do not suit us, we will just hand them back over to you”. Then the Canadian justice system will deal with them. They will be protected by the charter. The Americans wash their hands of all this.
It has to be said that this is to their advantage. They will have far less trouble dealing with a possibly undesirable international clientele, because now it is Canada that will deal with it all. They will be returned to their country of origin at Canadian expense, or be processed through the Canadian legal system.
My colleague from the New Democratic Party said “Yes, but the Americans are going to apply their own legislation very strictly”. That may be the case, but they will not do it very often. Someone undesirable will simply be turned over to the Canadian authorities. We will be the ones stuck with dealing with them and expelling them from the country.
We are familiar with the problems often encountered with illegal immigrants involved in crime, and how difficult it is to get rid of them with all the appeal processes there are here. They will come under Canadian jurisdiction.
That said, there is one interesting aspect for this country. This bill casts some light on practices that were already in place. It is a bill that comes to us from the other place and I must draw attention to the work that was done there.
It is often said that in that other place they do not have much to do. If that is so, it is because there is not much happening in this place as far as legislation is concerned. Where is the government's vision on legislation? There is none.
The main work of the other place is to review, analyse, re-examine and possibly amend bills before returning them to us. If they have nothing to do in the other place, it is because there is nothing much doing here.
There are some top-notch people in the other place, as there are many in this House. There are some so-so people in the other place, as there are here too perhaps. Not many, of course, but there are some.
Let us try to focus the energies and strengths that exist in this parliament. Let us also try to improve what is being done and how it is being done. It is not by running down the other place that we will improve things.
If Quebecers and Canadians were asked who they trusted least, the answer might well be this country's politicians, with the exception of yourself, Mr. Speaker, perhaps. That does not mean we should all go out and commit hara-kiri. We must continue to work at improving our credibility and showing that we can make a difference. All members of the House are motivated by one thing: to make a difference for those we represent.
Bill S-22 can also make a difference for those we represent by simplifying business and pleasure travel toward destinations in the United States.
Once again, it is not because the bill comes from the other place that it is bad. I would even say that it is not because an idea comes from the Reform Party that it is bad. Absolutely not. Nor does this mean that all their ideas are always sensible and well thought out. However, the fact remains that we cannot be running each other down. We must get one thing straight, which is that each time we say something bad about the other place in the House, we are saying something bad about ourselves as well.
I am therefore pleased to support Bill S-22, and I wish to congratulate the people in the other place, as well as members of this House, for the very fine work that was done.