Mr. Speaker, I wish to thank my colleague for his question and for his understanding of the underlying intent of the bill, which he too describes as another short term initiative.
Since he has provided me with the opportunity, I will remind hon. senators of the serious problems that arose when the federal government decided it was the best one to manage the fisheries.
The main thrust of my speech centres on the fact that the bill does not allow the institutions in place, which are essentially composed of the American states in co-operation, and the Canadian provinces in co-operation, to function as they have since 1985, in keeping with the recommendations of the international joint commission. The federal government wants to inaugurate a whole new infrastructure instead.
My colleague will certainly understand that deciding whether or not a permit for water diversion should be issued requires more than three public servants and four computers. The bill has a distinct air of improvization about it, as well as an air of lack of confidence in the provincial governments.
The reason I have stressed the joint commission recommendations so much is that it strikes me as extraordinarily important that the IJC, as a body created under the international treaty, be able to recommend the use of existing institutions in order to get important recommendations into prompt, concrete and co-ordinated application. Neither of the ministers has given any explanation in this connection.
They say that their bill is not a contradiction. Their position is more defensive than confidence inspiring. I would even say that it does not show respect for the competency, intelligence and democratic sense of responsible populations.
This is no surprise but I must say that my astonishment is constantly renewed by the federal government's imagination in taking over others' areas of jurisdiction when it has trouble looking after its own.