Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition which is signed by residents of British Columbia, including from my own constituency of Burnaby—Douglas, as well as residents of Halifax, Nova Scotia on the other coast.
This is a petition opposing the presence of nuclear powered and nuclear armed vessels in the Strait of Georgia. The petitioners note that the agreement allowing the U.S. use of the Canadian Forces Maritime Experimental and Test Ranges, CF METR, in Nanoose Bay expired in June 1996, that the cold war is over and that this is a cold war facility, that this nuclear emergency response plan acknowledges the potential for a nuclear emergency at CF METR and that CF METR occupies land and water that are part of the sovereign claims of the Nanoose first nation.
They call therefore for cancellation of the CF METR agreement with the U.S. and an immediate ban on all nuclear powered and or nuclear weapons capable vessels from B.C. waters and harbours. They also ask that resolving the land claims of the Nanoose first nation be a priority issue and that CF METR be converted to peaceful uses.