Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
I congratulate Mr. Cullen for bringing this type of motion forward. Every so often something occurs that really transcends everything—politics, partisanship, or whatever—and this tragedy is on that scale. This calls for wisdom and the capacity of the whole system to reflect on the events and analyze them in parallel with what actually is occurring and to try to juxtapose those with what the effect would be if those same events happened in another instance.
I have to tell you that I was a little taken aback by the cut and thrust of the discussion in the House, if it was a discussion in question period. I haven't talked with people about this, but it wasn't in the nature of what I think people are looking to us for, as decision-makers. I think people are saying that to be forewarned is to be forearmed. It happened there, and it would be totally in keeping with why we're here and why people look to us, if we tried to appraise the situation and reflect on it and, in a very upfront and professional way, take appropriate action.
I think this is the appropriate action, certainly in relation to the other implications of a spill for ice and oil that I've heard of, and the kinds of things that might occur, and even the implications of the design. I was watching a program on YouTube, where an engineer was saying that even the engineering of the base of the drilling unit wasn't compatible with any emergency interface that they could come up with. They were scrambling in trying to look at the engineering; and now, in retrospect, if they were going to do it again, they wouldn't design the base of that rig, down in the depths of the ocean, the way they did.
So we have a chance to look at this issue, and I take Mr. Cullen's sincerity at face value in putting this motion forward. I know that has been challenged in the past, but on this one, I think he is very—