Mr. Speaker, I thank members for their consent. It must be Friday.
It is a great pleasure for me to stand and speak in support of Bill C-7, an act to establish the Saguenay—St. Lawrence Marine Park. I would like to add my congratulations and gratitude to all those who have worked tirelessly to bring this project to fruition.
On behalf of my colleague from Chicoutimi, I would especially like to congratulate all the stakeholders in the vast region affected by the establishment of this marine park, including the municipalities that have promoted the idea of the marine park. Congratulations on making the park a success.
This process involved in the establishment of the Saguenay St. Lawrence Marine Park will be a model for the development of other marine conservation areas for years to come. This marks the first time two governments acting within their respective jurisdictions jointly established a park.
It is probably the park that underwent the largest consultation process ever held in this country. The process led to increasing the proposed boundaries of the park by approximately 40%. This consultative process also allowed the people who will be affected by the park to share their views, concerns and ideas.
Throughout the debate we have heard about maintaining the ecological integrity of our ecosystems. This party believes that the project goes a long in doing just that. The Progressive Conservative Party has always played a leading role in the protection of our environment and the development of both terrestrial and marine parks. I am happy to state that we will continue to do that.
This marine park is an excellent illustration of Canadians becoming stewards of their marine heritage and working together toward the common goal of maintaining the area's ecological integrity and ensuring its long term sustainability.
When we were in government, we recognized the importance of conserving our national marine areas. Many members will know that there are four natural regions for national marine conservation, the Arctic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes.
This is also the first marine conservation area on the east coast and I look forward to the development of the remaining nine marine parks in the Atlantic region.
Too often people think that conservation means no development, or in the case of fisheries, no fishing. Conservation and development should not be seen as being working at cross purposes, but working together hand in hand. National marine conservation areas are meant to, and I quote: “represent the diversity of our nation's marine ecosystems, facilitate and encourage marine research and ecological monitoring, protect depleted of endangered species and populations and preserve habitats considered critical to the survival of these species, protect and maintain areas critical to the life cycles of the economically important species and provide interpretation of marine areas for the purposes of conservation, education and tourism”.
In closing, I once again want to thank members for their unanimous consent to allow me to speak and I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the efforts of our colleague from Chicoutimi who has worked tirelessly over the last 12 years to make this park a reality.