Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak to Motion No. 385, put forward by the member for South Shore, Nova Scotia. I can understand why he moved such a motion.
I can also understand the desire to mark the year of the volunteer. Canada chose currency for that purpose. Be it the 25 cent coin or other denominations, there are always changes in what is depicted on the reverse side of coins. There is real significance to it. Since everyone has small change in their pockets, it really meant something.
The member for South Shore is moving his motion just as the government is deciding to go back to the Bluenose . His motion is therefore welcome.
In Nova Scotia, the Bluenose will never be forgotten. Nova Scotians are proud of it and they have every reason to be. It is a boat which was built with incredible speed. It could be used for fishing and for racing. I am sure that it saddened Nova Scotians when the Bluenose was taken off the ten cent coin.
Clearly, it was not in vain that my colleague moved this motion in the House of Commons, especially now that we hear the good news that the Bluenose will be back on the ten cent coin.
I remember when I was small looking at dimes and thinking what a superb sailboat it was. I am still young, but although a few years had gone by, the Bluenose continued to feature on the ten cent coin. I can understand how the people of Nova Scotia felt when it was dropped. That was something.
I think that it is symbolic of the work of Nova Scotia's fishermen, those who went out to sea. It is deeply symbolic. As we know, fishing is not easy work, and it certainly was not easy in the past, in the days of the Bluenose . How many fishermen have lost their lives at sea?
It has meaning for Nova Scotia. I am sure that if other provinces could have something similar on Canadian currency, their inhabitants would be proud. I can understand the people of Nova Scotia and the member for South Shore, who put forward this motion. He is asking that something which was recognized for years be restored. No one had asked that it be removed.
The Bluenose is also representative of shipbuilding in Nova Scotia.
Shipbuilders have done much work not only in Nova Scotia but throughout the Atlantic provinces. People have worked and made their living building ships.
Today when we talk about Nova Scotia, we still talk about the Bluenose and the people who want to see it. They recognize what has been done in Nova Scotia and across Atlantic Canada. Many people, men, women and children, live off the fishery. This is an example of it.
How many people have lost their lives at sea? They did not have the equipment that we have today when they went fishing. Even today we are still losing people at sea. It is not an easy job, even if people believe it is. Personally, years ago I went to Shelburne and fished for tuna in the gulf stream. I was gone for three and a half days. I lived at sea as the fishermen did.
I do not think I would make a good fisherman, especially if I went three and a half days without seeing land. We were over a hundred miles out to sea and we could not see the land. I thought people would have to be stupid to get on a boat to go fishing. If they decided they wanted to go home at night, how would they get there? They could not walk on the water. They could not go home. There was no taxi for them to take. When we are on land, if we are not happy where we are, we can jump in a car or call a taxi and go to where we want. After two days on the sea, I could not call anybody to take me home.
I sympathize with all those fishermen and the hard work they do. They put their lives in jeopardy all the time. Previously I was a miner. I know how dangerous it is to work in a mine. I have sympathy for all those people who do those hard jobs. That does not mean that the jobs of others are not hard. We talk about the woodcutter, for example, and the number who are killed in the woods.
Coming back to the fishermen, I personally thank the member for the motion he brought before the House of Commons to put the Bluenose back on the dime. This would set the example of the hard work of those in the past.
It is truly important, because this is a symbol that we want to keep forever. It is not only a symbol for all these people, all these fishermen who went to sea, but also for all these jobs that were created for fishermen, particularly in Nova Scotia.
Fishermen got work everywhere, whether in the Atlantic or Pacific region, whether in Vancouver or elsewhere. Through their work, these people were able to put food on the table to feed their children. People living in these regions did not have an easy life.
The reason the schooner Bluenose was removed from the ten cent coin in 2001 is a good one. It was to recognize all the volunteer work that had been done in previous years. I can understand that. However, today, it is nice to think that the schooner could appear again on ten cent coin.
For years, the caribou appeared on twenty-five cent coins. We no longer see it. Now, when we look at a twenty five cent coin, we do not know what it represents, unless someone tells us. Before, we knew that the caribou represented—in my opinion—the great Canadian north, the people who lived there and who hunted the caribou. For example, how many people lived off its meat? That symbol represented something that almost everyone was familiar with, just like the Bluenose , which used to represent Nova Scotia fishermen, work at sea and in fish plants.
This representation has a meaning, particularly for people from the region. Other Canadians are asking themselves the same question when they see a ten cent coin. They wonder what it represents and the locals can explain it to them when they travel around the country.
The Bluenose is a great Canadian symbol that makes us proud. It was designed by a Canadian architect and built by Canadian workers. It could not be more Canadian. It is a model, a way of recognizing the industries of our regions.
I am certain—and I know I am repeating myself, but it is worth doing so—that the people of Nova Scotia are happy to see the Bluenose back on the dime. But they cannot possible be happier than our colleague from South Shore, who has taken the trouble to introduce a motion here in the House of Commons.
Just before this debate on the motion began, the decision was made to put the Bluenose back on the ten cent coin. I would like to personally congratulate our colleague from South Shore for the initiative he has taken to bring back this source of Canadian pride. By so doing, something from our past is being preserved, for this schooner reminds us of the fisheries, those who ply the sea, and others. I thank you for this opportunity to express my views on this motion.