Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member who has worked so hard on the law of the sea and environmental issues.
The timing of Canada's ratification of the United Nations convention on the law of the sea must be placed in the context of Canada's broader policy regarding high seas fishing. The Canadian government remains committed to the ratification of the convention. Canada has signed the convention and as such is committed to respect its object and purpose. Before ratifying the convention however we need to ensure that an effective international high seas fisheries enforcement regime is in place to protect fish stocks which straddle Canada's 200-mile fishing zone and the adjacent high seas.
Canada is currently engaged in a number of initiatives aimed at putting such a regime in place, the most important of which is early Canadian ratification and entry into force of the UN agreement on straddling and highly migratory fish stocks. This agreement fills gaps left in the law of the sea convention relating to high seas fisheries management. It considerably strengthens the convention's provisions on the conservation and sound management of straddling fish stocks. Canada played a leading role in the negotiation of this agreement and its ratification is our immediate priority.
The Canadian government is also continuing its relentless efforts to reform and strengthen the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization, NAFO. We are determined to prevent any future abuse of the NAFO objection procedure which led to overfishing of NAFO quotas. We are also developing a strategy to ensure the construction of a comprehensive enforcement regime in the NAFO regulatory area beyond 1998. This is essential to the viability and sustainability of the many important groundfish stocks in the northwest Atlantic.
We are also examining the usefulness and feasibility on the one hand of negotiating bilateral fisheries enforcement agreements with flag of convenience states and on the other of seeking provisional application of the straddling stocks agreement prior to its entry into legal force, on a reciprocal basis with like-minded countries.
Although Canada has not yet ratified the law of the sea convention, we continue to play a very active role in multilateral fora dealing with law of the sea issues.