Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague raises a good point. I would like to point out the difference between each coast. On the west coast, the auxiliary is like a volunteer fire brigade. They certainly have training, but they are not trained to the level of the Coast Guard. While volunteers play a vital role as part of that network my hon. colleague talked about, they recognize they cannot be a substitute for the Coast Guard that can respond within minutes.
Auxiliary members would have to come from home or work. They would have to generally drive to the station, which would take many minutes, then get their equipment ready, get in the craft and get to the distress call. As has been described by others, this would take 45 minutes, most likely at best, and that is unacceptable.