Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Davenport for his comments.
Canada promised to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and it will keep that promise. But it is important that it do so at the right time.
What constitutes the right time will depend on Canadian high seas fisheries policy.
Since 1995 Canada has focused its efforts on the development and adoption of the UN agreement on straddling and highly migratory fish stocks. This agreement fills the gaps left in the law of the sea convention relating to high seas fisheries management. Canada played a leading role in the negotiation of the UN fish agreement which provides for a strong conservation, management and enforcement regime on the high seas. We need an effective international high seas enforcement regime to protect fish stocks which straddle Canada's 200 mile fishing zone and the adjacent high seas.
We intend to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea as soon as an effective high seas regime is in place. This will include the introduction of the UN fisheries agreement and its effective enforcement between Canada and the main nations fishing off our coasts.
Canada ratified the United Nations fisheries agreement on August 3, 1999, and encourages other nations, including members of the European Union, to do the same.