Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak today to this bill, an act to amend the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994 and the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.
The purpose of the bill is to ensure that, when ships cause environmental disasters, we have a mechanism that would alert all ship owners and users so that other environmental accidents can be avoided. We have to avoid disasters like the Exxon Valdez oil spill or any other situation that might not have as great an impact but still has an adverse effect on the environment.
As early as the second reading stage, the government had support from the opposition and the various parties to pass this bill as quickly as possible. What is surprising however is that closure was invoked in committee and no witnesses could be heard. Representations were made, for instance, by representatives of the Shipping Federation of Canada, SODES, which is the St. Lawrence Economic Development Council, and Ducks Unlimited, who have serious environmental concerns. These people would have liked to express their views on some of the provisions of the bill that might need to be improved or amended.
Clause 9 will be my only example. It sets the maximum fines for anyone responsible for an ecological accident involving a ship. No minimum is set, however,
Members of the committee would have liked to have been able to make representations for setting a minimum fine, so that a clear signal would be sent to companies that this is unacceptable and carries a very heavy fine. This would have conveyed the message that every possible means must be taken to avoid such accidents.
During the debate, the parliamentary secretary indicated that he had a reason for this, and that it was to save individuals from having to pay huge fines. This is the sort of thing that ought to have been debated during the parliamentary committee meetings. Had it been, we could have reached a conclusion, based on what we heard there, to have a certain level of fine for corporate bodies and another for individuals. By so doing, we would really have achieved the desired result, which is to make companies clearly aware that they will have to assume responsibility for environmental accidents and that, if they do not, they will be hit with a very substantial fine.
This bill will certainly give rise to a considerable amount of case law. Representations will be made in this regard. If the conclusion is reached that the fines are too low, depending on the approach taken by the judge and on the situation, the opposite message to the one originally intended may be conveyed. What we want to make very clear to people is that we want to invest in prevention, and that doing so will be cost-effective, because the fines are very much a reality and a single accident will result in a very hard hit financially. If the fine imposed is insignificant, it sends the message that everybody can continue as before.
So we would have liked to discuss this in committee. The bill has not been hanging around for months; I believe we started to look at it last week. It moved to committee very quickly, but there were no witnesses. Why such haste? It is true that it is important to pass a bill on this, but why in such a rush? Why was it not introduced a year or more ago? I see a connection with the election deadline.
Several months ago, a fine of $120,000 was levied against CSL, formerly owned by the Prime Minister, for having discharged ballast off the coast of Newfoundland. Following this blot on the record of the companies he ran, the Prime Minister wanted to find a way to deflect the response. Suddenly, it became important to pass a law, after it was discovered that the company had been convicted and that there was a black mark on the record of the Prime Minister's companies.
Despite this situation, the bill must be passed. We all know the importance of avoiding environmental accidents at sea. I represent a riding along the St. Lawrence River; one of its notable features is the Île du Pot-à-l'eau-de-vie, where there is a magnificent eider duck site that deserves to be protected, as it has been for a number of years.
We must all work together to ensure that these situations can be avoided, and that this kind of accident does not recur. Moving forward must be our goal.
I would like to recognize the hon. member for Rosemont—Petite-Patrie, our environment critic, for all the work he has done. Today he is being recognized for his environmental concerns. He has also become a resource person for all Quebeckers who want to see progress, whether on the issue of GMOs or the widening of the St. Lawrence Seaway, with all the ecological repercussions that entails. In my opinion, the hon. member for Rosemont—Petite-Patrie is a very competent and effective spokesperson in all the various sectors involved.
Personally, I would also have liked the bill to address more than environmental accidents at sea. We are discussing amendments to the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994. In my riding, there are problems with the disappearance of the bird sanctuaries covered by this act.
Perhaps this could have been an opportunity to put more teeth into the bill to ensure that consumers are protected in that situation and that hunters and people who use natural spaces for ecotourism can do so to full advantage. We must avoid the current situation; sanctuaries are being eliminated, even though there is no need to do so.
We must ensure that the legislation is strong enough to protect us in this regard. However, this is not the case in the bill, because, in the rush, the government targeted only one element to rectify. Also, there could have been something in the bill to improve the way the government compensates farmers who are penalized by movements of migratory birds that eat what they have planted on their land.
There have been complaints on this for a long time, particularly in the region that I represent. Indeed, we had to fight hard to receive adequate compensation. It would have been appropriate to more forward with this bill to include more provisions in this regard.
Consequently, we wish there had been the same desire to act quickly on the employment insurance issue. Unlike this sector, a committee of members of this House had already tabled a recommendation three years ago. It was a unanimous report in favour of a real reform of the employment insurance program. This reform never became reality.
With regard to migratory birds, the committee did not make any prior recommendations, but a conclusion may be drawn very quickly, because there was an order from the Prime Minister's office—this is quite obvious—to find a way to hide the truth about what happened in the incident that led to CSL's being fined $120,000 for dumping bilge water off Newfoundland.
Finally, this bill ensures that there is additional protection. Probably in the coming months and years, the government will realize that the absence of real work in committee has led to holes in the legislation and it will be forced to correct it. This is the sad reality.
Despite all, between having no legislation and having this one, it is better to pass this one and to allow it to come into force as quickly as possible.
My colleague was lamenting the fact that the Senate will no longer be sitting. It is all a matter of dates. It will depend on the date the election is called by the Prime Minister. However, if my colleague really wants this bill to be adopted, I hope that he will not hide behind the fact that he would have had the House of Commons adopt the motion in the full knowledge—this would really be cynical—that it would not be adopted by the Senate because it would not be sitting.
I think that there is a possibility that the Senate will sit next week. Let us make sure that the bill is adopted because overall, it is a situation that should be corrected. We have to send a clear message to the shipping companies and let them know that we are promoting a zero tolerance program, that there will be full prevention and that this will allow us to prevent environmental accidents at sea.
As I was saying earlier, such an accident has major consequences at sea, but the consequences would be just as bad in the St. Lawrence estuary and on the other Canadian coasts.
It is important that the bill go all the way. However, it should not be an election ploy. We have to change the current situation to ensure adequate protection and to meet the objectives of the bill, not just the Prime Minister's electoral objectives.
I would now like to remind the House that the Bloc Quebecois will be supporting this bill that would help to significantly improve the situation.