Mr. Speaker, the Thompson River system has been a major navigational waterway for over 100 years. Recently, however, the Canadian Coast Guard has decided it will no longer take responsibility for the buoy markers and therefore the safety of local and visiting boaters on this important waterway.
The federal government has crippled the B.C. softwood lumber industry, abdicated its responsibility for native land claims and now it threatens tourism and local navigation by proposing to remove 114 navigation buoys.
My message to the minister is clear: Do not do it. This government neglect is putting lives and livelihoods at risk. That is the exact opposite of what a government should do.