Mr. Speaker, I resisted the temptation to respond to every point. Some good points were made but quite a large number of them were exaggerations.
Be that as it may, I encourage those outside the Chamber who are interested in the facts to read the various public documents that relate to Bill C-11 and the proposed sale of the federal coal assets in Cape Breton. I would also have them refer to the committee proceedings.
I will briefly deal with some of the amendments. I will not try to deal with all the amendments in Group No. 1. Motion No. 1 refers to the Government of Nova Scotia. I am not aware that Nova Scotia has expressed any interest with reference to this proposed amendment. In any event I do not think it would be helpful to put in place measures that would preclude a future owner of the coal operations from government interference at that time.
With respect to all these amendments, the government will not be supporting any of them. For the most part they are in many cases redundant, such as Motion No. 3 which refers to the auditor general. The auditor general is Devco's auditor. The Devco board is responsible for reporting to parliament every year. Therefore I doubt there are concerns over disclosure which have much if any substance.
With reference to Motions Nos. 4 and 5, I believe they refer to undertakings to the general advantage of Canada. Those measures are already taken care of in the bill as it stands. Indeed they would also be redundant.
With respect to Motion No. 2 in terms of a public inquiry, notwithstanding comments made earlier there have been extensive consultations over the years. It has been studied enough.
I will conclude my comments on the first group of amendments. Let me just add, though, that I respect the views of members on Bill C-11. It is a tough thing to do, but we on this side believe it is best for Cape Breton to allow the coal industry to get on. We believe the communities and the people of Cape Breton are up to the future and will do well.