Mr. Speaker, yesterday the transport minister stated that of the 27 million shipments of hazardous goods travelling through Canada annually, less than 1% is a problem. That would mean that approximately 270,000 shipments are dangerous to Canadians.
Firefighters who saw MPs on the Hill this week, who visited me yesterday, stated that to implement Operation Respond across Canada, the cost would only be $236,000. I believe that the lives of our firefighters are well worth that cost. These brave men and women need to have information before going into situations that can jeopardize their lives, as well as the lives of other Canadians.
Operation Respond will get that information to them quicker and, in conjunction with CANUTEC, will give our firefighters the necessary data to do their jobs.
We know through results in the United States that the system works well. I ask the minister to give these brave people the tools they need to survive and to do their jobs.