I want to thank the interpreters. I appreciate that this has been a bit of a challenging meeting to interpret.
Minister, we have had an entire study at our committee about the derelict and abandoned vessels lining our coasts. In Nanaimo, Ladysmith and other coastal communities along Vancouver Island, we are particularly hard hit. In Ladysmith specifically, along the coast they have what's called the “dogpatch”, where vessels are all lined together and are sinking, polluting our marine ecosystems. It's a huge problem. It's an issue being brought to my attention over and over again, not just for the environmental impacts but also for the impacts on tourism and the safety implications for mariners.
Minister, we have the information. We are in the process of putting forward recommendations from this committee. Will you commit to helping clean up these vessels along our coasts and preventing them from...? It shouldn't be easier for Canadians to abandon a vessel than to clean it up properly. Can you commit today to working to get these recommendations implemented so that these vessels won't continue to line our coasts?