Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the debate on Bill C-3, the international bridges and tunnels act.
This bill should not be too far back in the memories of members in the House as it was before the House only several months ago, but allow me to review a few general tenets of the bill. Members may remember from the second reading debate that the bill actually borrows from Bill C-26 and Bill C-44, which both died on the order paper as recently as last year. This is a very important bill. These previous bills proposed a significant number of amendments to the Canada Transportation Act, including adding provisions dealing with international bridges and tunnels.
In this case, Bill C-3, which is very important to this government and very important to members of this House, focuses only on international bridges and tunnels and the matters concerning these structures. Bill C-3 is the new and improved version from this Conservative government of what the former bills were proposing, plus two new provisions. The first actually is technical in nature and deals with the construction of bridges over the St. Lawrence River. The second is a requirement for government approval of all transactions that affect the ownership and operation of these structures.
The bill, when enacted, will be the very first law to apply to all of Canada's international bridges and tunnels. It is a great job by this Conservative government.
There are currently 24 international vehicle bridges and tunnels and five international railway tunnels with various forms of ownership and governance structures. The degree of oversight exercised by the federal government varies tremendously from bridge to tunnel to different crossings. By declaring these structures to be works for the general advantage of Canada, the bill confirms the federal government's jurisdictional authority to deal with international bridges and tunnels as attributed to the federal government under section 92 of the Constitution. This is part of our mandate as the federal government.
Currently, to everyone's surprise, the federal government does not have legislative authority to ensure effective oversight of these bridges and tunnels. That is why this government is pushing it forward so quickly. For example, the federal government is not able to obtain detailed information on security issues, which are so prevalent, from all of the bridge authorities. All existing international vehicle and rail bridges and tunnels will be subject to the proposed act, as will all future structures. That is very important.
It was mentioned in the House during second reading that many of the bridges and tunnels that exist today were created by special acts of Parliament, which was a tremendous amount of work. These special acts established not only the company that would be responsible for constructing the bridge or tunnel, but also set out the various terms and conditions that had to be met before the governor in council would approve the construction of any crossing.
For the most part, these special acts were enacted decades ago, in some cases almost 100 years ago, and did not address the modern day realities, such as security. Every time a new issue arose, such as amending the borrowing limit for these crossings, these acts actually had to be amended. Such procedures were very cumbersome and warranted a lot of time from Parliament and the organizations involved, much time for little result.
Reference was actually made by me during second reading to the Blue Water Bridge which connects Point Edward, Ontario with Port Huron, Michigan. The original legislation, believe it or not, was enacted in 1928 and since that time has been amended no less than 10 times, the most recent time being in 2001. In fact, until such time as the proposed act is in force, a special act of Parliament would still be required to approve the construction of any new international bridge or tunnel.
That is why I am hoping for all party consent to push this matter through quickly. I would suggest that was an ineffective use of time, when the approval of new construction could be dealt with much more effectively by an administrative process that could be set down so everyone understands where and how they are going to move forward. This is what Bill C-3 proposes, a Conservative reality check in setting out that the construction of all new bridges and tunnels requires government approval, as do alterations to existing structures. It is a great move by this government.
Our neighbours in the United States have adopted a much more streamlined approval process for the construction of international bridges and tunnels. Before issuing a presidential permit approving the construction of an international bridge or tunnel, the U.S. Department of State consults with other federal and state departments and the Canadian government to ensure that all required permits are obtained and all conditions are met.
Bill C-3 allows for the adoption of a similar process in Canada to streamline it and make it much more efficient. Bill C-3 also sets requirements for bridge and tunnel maintenance and repair and safety and security keeping Canadians safe as they travel. This will give the government the power to make regulations in this area and to provide for sanctions when these regulations are not followed. The bill does not differentiate between structures that are publicly or privately owned. It does not propose one set of rules for private and one set of rules for public. It provides one set of rules for international crossings because they are important to this government. They are important to our international trade, our tourism and of course, our economy which is so important to us.
It is proposed that the bill apply equally to all international bridges and tunnels, regardless of whether they are owned by the province, the state, or privately. Of course the government is interested in who owns and operates these structures. That is why the bill proposes that government approval must be sought each and every time there is a change of ownership. That way the government at all times will know who ultimately owns, operates and controls these critical structures that belong to Canada. That way the government will be satisfied that these persons are not only qualified, but have the structure's long term viability in mind in the best interests of Canadians.
Safety of the travelling Canadian public is job number one of this government. This legislation will ensure that our bridges and crossings are safe and that the federal government has the ability to ensure national security and protect the vital trade links on which our economy depends. Safety does not start and end when these structures are designed and built. As a result we must maintain the safety and security throughout the life of the structure.
This bill will permit public safety to be assured in the following ways: first, at the construction phase, to make sure that the bridge or tunnel is built in accordance with proper and appropriate safety measures; second, at the time of any major alteration, by making these alterations subject to approval by the government; and third, to make sure that these crossings are properly and regularly maintained. If this is not the case, the bill grants the government the power to order the owners to make repairs that are deemed necessary to keep the structure in good working condition.
We often talk in the House about Canada's aging infrastructure. We were reminded during second reading debate just how old some of these structures are. Many, believe it or not, were built in the 1920s. Some were built in the 1960s. While many have been renovated and some have received proper maintenance and repair, there are some structures that still have significant concerns. The bill will enable the minister to make regulations in the area of maintenance and repair to ensure that standards of best practices in these areas are being followed. The minister has taken a step to ensure that Canadians are safe on our international borders.
The bill also addresses security. Unfortunately, we all know that terrorism in North America is a reality. In the aftermath of September 11, 2001, many security measures were put into place to protect Canada's critical infrastructure against terrorist threats. Many of the security standards or best practices that exist today are as a result of September 11. Our international bridges and tunnels did not escape scrutiny. That is why this Conservative government is putting this legislation forward as one of our main priorities.
In relation to international bridges and tunnels, many voluntarily took up the challenge and worked together to evaluate current levels of security and determine how this security could be improved upon. When it comes to security, the job is never done. We have to continue to make sure that new types of threats mean new types of security measures. There is no room for complacency. We must continue to be proactive in this area.
I would therefore encourage all members of the House to work cooperatively with this government to secure Canada's future, to secure Canadians as they travel across our international borders. I thank the member for Windsor West, the member for Ottawa South and the member for Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel for all their hard work on this file during committee and all the cooperation they have shown.