Mr. Chair, this is, again, to allow the minister to have more capacity to prohibit extractive activities. It's permissive, not mandatory.
“Extractive activity” is defined as activity that removes or extracts any resource from an area, and includes fishing. Extractive activity would be oil, gas, mineral, or fishing, but again it is a permissive regulatory capacity being created for the minister, and there's nothing mandatory here.
I certainly think that this would conform, as I mentioned earlier, to the evidence from many witnesses as well as where we know the Canadian public thinks a marine protected area should be. I hope you'll consider this one.
Thank you.