2008-02-14 - Fisheries and Oceans Report Debate
Debate on the Fisheries and Oceans Committee Report
Mr. Blaine Calkins (Wetaskiwin, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, I listened with great interest to my colleague who, like myself, was a member of the fisheries committee. I certainly miss this member's presence on the committee and wish him all the best in whatever committees he is currently working on.
The member talked about an envelope of money that could be available for a small craft harbour that has been already divested. It seems a little bit counterintuitive to me because the whole purpose of going through the divestiture was part of the rationalization process to take those harbours that were not considered core harbours out of the purview of the federal government.
The policy of the small craft harbours program is to bring these harbours up to a safe and acceptable standard before the divestiture process even occurs. To now actually bring more money to the table, for harbours that we have basically already brought up to a standard that should have been acceptable to whoever took it over, does not seem to make any sense to me especially when we have shortfalls.
Admittedly, we have shortfalls in the small craft harbour program. It has been clear. I asked the question in committee when these deficits actually started to accrue as far as infrastructure deficits. It started in the early 90s. The question was answered that it happened around 1993 or so and I do not think that is a coincidence if Canadians look back at some of the cuts that needed to happen.
Does my colleague really think that it is the right thing to do to start spending federal treasury money on harbours that are divested, given the fact that the rationalization process was meant to actually give those harbours over to someone who was outside the purview of the federal government?
I might also remind my hon. colleague that the Government of Canada does have the building Canada fund which is a $33 billion fund that has various pots of money for municipalities and, for example, if the harbour he is talking about was actually divested to a municipality. If it were of significant importance to that municipality, that municipality would have the option of applying for a grant to do any major capital investments.
Is my hon. colleague suggesting that the Government of Canada reverse its position, which was a position taken by the previous Liberal government, of divesting harbours and bringing those harbours back into the fold through an envelope of money and actually further burdening the problem of the shortfall of money that we have for the harbours that are currently under the Government of Canada's jurisdiction?
Mr. Rodger Cuzner:
Mr. Speaker, the question from the member for Wetaskiwin is a fair one. I believe that the rationalization through the mid-1990s was well intended and that the Liberals did it for the right reasons. The whole purpose was that it would pay dividends and benefits in the longer term.
Because of the change, and I indicated several in my presentation, in the size of the boats, and their increase in size, individual boats are taking up greater room in some of the core harbours. If there was a reassessment and an inventory done now on the harbours, we would see that the harbours we invested in through the mid-1990s are being stressed because of the increase in the size of the boats over the years.
The member is absolutely right, and I certainly would not duck this, that cuts were made in the 1990s. Past Liberal governments had to come to terms with the fiscal situation of the country at that time. Cuts were made in small craft harbours. Cuts were made in health, in transportation, in every sector. Nobody escaped the wrath of the cuts. All Canadians felt the impact. Certainly the fishery felt the impact. Those cuts were significant, but they were necessary.
Those cuts have put us in a financial situation that is not bad. We have had some very strong and prosperous years. We have been in a surplus situation over the last number of years, not so much with the GST cut to 5%, but there is not so much there now, and that is why we are handcuffed in making the key investments in places like small craft harbours, key infrastructure like that. I do not know if the federal government is going to have the opportunity to help some of these industries along.
The member's point is well taken. I just think that if we did a reassessment of the inventory of the harbours that we have now, we would see that some of the harbours that had been divested still have merit as safe harbours or even could take some of the strain off the core harbours.