INST Committee Report

The Canadian Alliance was deeply disturbed by the horrific acts of terrorism against the United States witnessed by the world on September 11, 2001. We recognize how profoundly the U.S. has been affected by these tragedies, and that as a result Canadians have been drawn closer to our southern neighbours. Furthermore, although North America was experiencing the beginnings of an economic slow-down prior to September 11, national priorities have changed significantly as security matters have become so much more important.

The Standing Committee on Industry Science & Technology's report on the Economic Impact of the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States provides a good overview of the situation facing Canadian industry. However, the Official Opposition believes that testimony provided by the witnesses regarding U.S. security concerns and the implementation of the Liberal Innovation Agenda was not accurately reflected in the report.

The Canadian Alliance welcomes the report's recommendations for high-level negotiations on the border issue and for post-September 11 security plans to be outlined in the upcoming federal budget. However, we feel that the report does not capture the importance of addressing U.S. security concerns, which was stressed by witness after witness.

The Committee report appears to suggest that although the border was a big problem during the early post-September 11 period, it has since returned to near-normal. The recommendations to build more infrastructure such as roads, bridges and tunnels and hire more customs officials fail to understand the overriding theme of the testimony: that U.S. security concerns must be addressed and in a proactive manner. The failure of the U.S. to reinitiate the CANPASS system more than two months after the terrorist attacks is testament to American unease regarding facilitating access through its northern border.

This is not a time to be complacent and witnesses before the committee were clear that leadership from the federal government is required for this issue to move forward. In fact, the upcoming negotiations on the Canada-U.S. border may be an opportunity to build on NAFTA and make further advancements on continental co-operation. The Canadian Alliance, however, is concerned that the Liberal anti-American tradition and misguided fears of losing sovereignty will send mixed signals to our southern neighbour to the detriment of the Canadian economy.

Recommendation One: The Canadian Alliance recommends that the federal government take a leadership role and embrace this opportunity to create cross-border cooperation that will satisfy the security and economic concerns of both countries.

The Official Opposition is concerned about the Minister of Industry’s approach to the so-called innovation agenda, and in particular the broadband strategy. The only witnesses who expressly supported an immediate post-September 11 implementation of the recommendations of the National Broadband Taskforce were the Minister of Industry and Ms. Linda Oliver representing the Information Technology Association of Canada.

However, many other witnesses testified that since the events of September 11, the priorities for government spending have changed, partially due to the new security requirements and the fact that North America is facing an economic slowdown. Allocating billions of dollars simply to increase the speed of Internet connections in Canada should not be a priority at this time.

The Canadian Alliance also believes that the Minister's entire innovation agenda should be brought to the Standing Committee on Industry, Science & Technology in draft form. The Committee heard a number of witnesses who indicated that while they were encouraged by the concept of an innovation agenda, they would approach its method of delivery differently.

Therefore, the Canadian alliance has two more recommendations specific to the Liberal Innovation Agenda:

Recommendation Two: That the broadband strategy be delayed and reworked to more accurately reflect the priorities of Canadians.

Recommendation Three: That the Minister of Industry immediately present the Standing Committee on Industry, Science & Technology a draft of the so-called Innovation Agenda.

Charlie Penson, Industry Critic