Mr. Speaker, I will try to be brief, but there are several points I would like to address in my speech, since I have been working on this issue in my riding since I was first elected.
I wish to thank my hon. colleague from Laurentides—Labelle for moving this motion, which aims to improve the regulation process for setting speed limits on the water. In my riding, there are several aspects to consider.
First of all, there is the matter of safety. For instance, in the summer, the Otterburn Boating Club has to stop all activities at 1 p.m. for safety reasons, because the power boats go so fast. That club is very concerned about this issue.
There are also some environmental concerns. I am sure that many of my colleagues have talked about this. That is also the reality in my region. For instance, the excessive speed of some boats can cause erosion of the shores of the Richelieu River.
There are also economic considerations. Certain facilities, such as wharfs, can be damaged. This can include public wharfs, which are funded by the federal, provincial and municipal governments, as well as private wharfs. In my riding, there are a few hundred if not thousands of residences on the shores of the Richelieu River, extending from the Chambly basin to Mont-Saint-Hilaire and Beloeil. These residences have private wharfs. When people purchase a property on the waterfront, they often see that the facilities are damaged.
The nuisance factor must also be taken into account. Power boats are very noisy, especially in residential neighbourhoods. In fact, I have received a number of emails, letters and phone calls from constituents who wanted to tell me about this problem.
Every time I work on this issue, I tell my constituents that we are trying to find a solution that will serve as a compromise, one that respects everyone. I would also like to point out that I live in that region myself, and I also enjoy the use of those boats.
I have friends who wakeboard. There is nothing better than having a beer with friends before boating to Vieux-Beloeil and going to a restaurant such as Le Jozéphil or Restaurant Janick. When you see the number of boats there, you realize that this is about tourism. We do not want to stop people, including myself, from enjoying these types of leisure activities. I understand the importance of having fun.
However, when you live in a community, you have to share the natural resources. In this case, we are talking about the river. We want to find an amicable solution that everyone can agree on.
When I talk about this issue with people in my riding, I like to compare it to how fast people drive on the highway. For example, if people go 200 km/hour, we set a speed limit of 100 km/hour. We do not want people to drive slowly; we just want the speed to be appropriate for the different sections of the river.
There are different kinds of places along the river, and we would like the speed to vary accordingly. For example, where there are many residences, the maximum speed should be different than where there are no residences and where only the highway is located alongside the river.
Furthermore, some boats drive away from the wharf at high speed. That causes a lot of damage compared to a boat that is in the middle of the river. That is a very important point. In our community, everyone understands both sides of the argument and we want to find the middle ground. For that reason, I made a commitment that, one day, our section of the Richelieu River would have a speed limit.
I would like to talk about the current process, which is at the heart of this motion. The process is all over the place and creates a major burden for municipalities. Transport Canada's process is all about making it easier for municipalities where there are four or five cottages around a lake. It is easy to consult with four or five cottage owners on one lake.
However, it is much more difficult to consult, or to come to a conclusion that can be considered adequate, when you have a river like ours. That river, after all, flows out of Lake Champlain and ends in Quebec City.
Elected municipal officials and I have talked about this issue. We have also raised it with Transport Canada, unfortunately without receiving a satisfactory response. For example, do we have to consult with people from Laval because they come into my constituency with their boats? Do we have to consult the Americans who come visit us? Transport Canada had no answer to those questions. As I see it, that highlights the problems we see in this process.
About a year ago, we held a meeting with elected municipal officials and we invited Transport Canada officials to come and explain the process to us. A number of the municipal officials had a hard time finding answers and explanations that would enable them to start the process. It has been quite difficult.
I do not want to go after officials who are doing their jobs because I do not think that they are the problem. The regulations are making the process bureaucratic, and that is not necessary. Ultimately, decisions are being made by people who do not come to see us and who unfortunately do not understand the reality of our situation.
I can guarantee that every summer, on the front page of the Oeil régional or the Journal de Chambly, there will be a picture of a boat going top speed with a headline such as, “The Cowboys are Back”. I saw that headline last year. There are countless articles about my constituents who, although they respect boaters, believe that we need to take the right steps to protect our environment; protect the safety of other types of watercraft, such as kayaks and canoes; and protect various types of public and private facilities, such as docks.
We started this process before my colleague moved his motion, and we have seen resolutions in six of the twelve municipalities in my riding. Most of the municipalities are part of the RCM of La Vallée-du-Richelieu, and there was also the Fédération québécoise des municipalités and the Montreal metropolitan area, to which many of these municipalities belong. They all adopted resolutions supporting a clear speed limit all along the Richelieu River, especially in my riding.
I am sure that some of my neighbours will talk about the situation in their own ridings. Perhaps they already have, since we are nearing the end of this debate.
We also had the opportunity to meet with the president of the union for the Régie intermunicipale de police Richelieu-Saint-Laurent, which serves our area, as well as representatives from Sûreté du Québec. They feel that the problem is that they are not able to fine people who they believe are behaving dangerously on the river. However, the majority of people pose no problem; it is a very small minority.
In my riding, the towns of Saint-Basile-le-Grand, McMasterville, Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Chambly, Carignan and Saint-Mathias-sur-Richelieu have all passed resolutions in favour of Motion No. 441, which was moved by the hon. member for Laurentides—Labelle and which we are discussing today.
At a convention, COVABAR, an organization that works to protect the St. Lawrence and Richelieu rivers, also passed a resolution in support of my colleague's motion. That organization works mainly in my riding.
All of the municipalities that make up the La Vallée-du-Richelieu RCM have unanimously supported this motion. They recognize that there is a serious problem with the process.
We do not know if the consultations will be honoured. As I said, we keep hearing about a consultation process, but we cannot know in advance if we are consulting the right people or if Transport Canada will think the consultation was adequate. We are putting not only an administrative burden on municipalities, but also a financial burden. Furthermore, municipalities have to pay to advertise the consultation even though there are no clear criteria. They also have to pay all the other costs associated with such a consultation.
In conclusion, I hope that my own experience in my riding will encourage my colleagues to support Motion No. 441.
I would like to reiterate my commitment to the people of Chambly—Borduas: if not now, someday we will have a speed limit in place to protect our community.