Mr. Speaker, I hope that the hon. member across the way will never need unanimous consent for one of his requests in the future. I should also mention that it is a huge loss for the House of Commons, because I am certain that the remarks made by the hon. member for Ottawa—Orléans would have been excellent and made a great contribution.
The Government of Canada recognizes this strategic role, which is why it made the port a Canadian port authority in 1999. This is one of the reasons the government does not support the motion by the member for Beauport—Limoilou, since the importance of the port was established 10 years ago. By supporting this motion, the government could potentially be seen as treating the port authority of Quebec City differently to the way it treats the other 16 Canadian port authorities.
There is another reason—and this is perhaps the main reason why the government does not support Motion M-271—and that is that it flies in the face of the fundamental principles that have made our national ports system the success that we know today. Let me explain.
The national ports network was set up in 1998 in order to be closer to its users. By users I mean shippers, exporters, importers, terminal operators and shipping companies. The goal is to make them less dependent on government subsidies.
The Canadian port network was overloaded and ineffective prior to the change in legislative and strategic direction. It was very costly for Canadian taxpayers. At that time, the government identified the financially autonomous ports essential to Canada's trade and, in 1998, it created the Canadian port authorities under the Canada Marine Act. This legislation introduced criteria for the commercial discipline and financial autonomy these strategic ports required in order to be competitive.
We have a system that meets users' needs and is reliable and effective. This system has greatly benefited Canadian taxpayers, the federal government and the Canadian economy.
For example, over the last 10 years, the market shares of the Canadian port authorities have ranged from 51% to 57% of the total traffic handled in the ports. Operating revenue went from $264 million in 2000 to $390 million in 2009. In 2008, the government introduced targeted changes to the Canada Marine Act, which gave port authorities access to federal funding programs—access that they did not have previously—putting them on an equal footing with the other transportation service providers, such as airports and railways.