Mr. Speaker, I am glad to see that at last the opposition shows some interest in the regions, especially the Magdalen Islands. I wish to inform the hon. member that it is Patrick Gagnon, the member for Bonaventure-Îles-de-la-Madeleine, and my colleague from Malpeque who informed the media of the importance and the danger of the Irving Whale even before the Minister of Environment knew about it.
The environment minister, the transport minister and the Government of Canada gave their support. They recognized that it was important to raise that ship which sank about 20 years ago. You can be sure that I personally am perfectly aware of the importance of refloating that wreck. But anyway, I thank the member opposite for showing interest because we must not forget that it is no thanks to the Bloc that the operation went ahead, or that we could interest the federal government in that wreck.
We took action. I consulted with my colleague from Malpeque and the people last February and believe me, the priority of the member for Bonaventure-Îles-de-la-Madeleine is not only the economic development of the islands, but also the integrity of their environment because I think that it is shared by everybody. Despite the opposition's denials, the government takes care of its business and, unfortunately, the opposition just discovered a threat to the environment that has been there for some time.
It is unfortunate that the opposition did not co-operate with us during the consultations. All it could do was find fault and play petty politics at the expense of the Magdalen Islanders and the environmental health of the islands.