The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Desneth-Missinippi-Churchill River MP Jeremy Harrison has questioned the government in the House of Commons regarding the Department of Transport's proposed new regulations for small vessel operators and the establishment of a canoe registry in the province of Saskatchewan. Harrison asked: "Mr. Speaker, this Liberal government has proposed a draconian new set of Transport policies for my home province of Saskatchewan. First, they want all outfitters, commercial fishermen, and guides to complete an operators' course Ñ offered in Vancouver or Halifax Ñ even if they've been operating their boats for decades. And guess what else, Mr. Speaker? The Liberals want to register their canoes! "We've already seen at least a billion taxpayers' dollars wasted on the Liberal gun registry. How much more money is this government planning to send up the creek with the Liberal canoe registry?" In response, Jim Karygiannis, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Transport Minister, could only say that the Liberals "take any kinds of vessels very seriously." Jeremy Harrison expressed exasperation with the government's answer. "This Liberal government completely misses the point," stated Harrison. "In my riding in northern Saskatchewan, many of these guides, outfitters, and fishermen have been operating watercraft safely for their entire lifetimes Ñ the last thing they need is the federal government sticking its beak where it doesn't belong." Harrison continued, "This Liberal government loves to over-regulate, perhaps to justify their bloated government bureaucracy. The fact is, these useless, unnecessary, and ineffective Transport policies will impact negatively on the outfitting and fishing industries that are so important to northern Saskatchewan and, like the gun registry, it will waste tons of taxpayers' dollars to boot. It's time we told Paul Martin and his friends Ñ the canoe registry is just one more Liberal policy that won't float in Saskatchewan."
