Mr. Speaker, I have news to report to the House. The debate has made the national news tonight because it is important. Hats off to my colleague from St. John's West because he raised the issue.
The hours may be growing late in Ottawa, but we are here to debate important issues in this place. If there were another more important issue affecting many people right now in Newfoundland and Labrador and Atlantic Canada, I would like to hear what it would be.
My colleagues in the PC/DR coalition have enunciated tonight the reason this is an important discussion. We have been here in numbers to talk about the issue because we care and because we have been sent here to represent our constituents on important issues.
Although I am a member from British Columbia, from the other coast, I understand the importance of the issue, how it impacts communities in Newfoundland and Labrador and Atlantic Canada, and how that in turn affects all of Canada.
If we do not stand together in this place on issues that are important we lose an opportunity to chart a course for the future of our country, our people and our communities regardless of what the issue might be. Foreign overfishing is a very important issue. We have seen this incident arise as a result of a trawler that was pulled aside and found to have thousands of tonnes of cod fish on it. As a result it has brought to our attention that this kind of thing is going on all the time.
As one of my colleagues mentioned earlier in the House it is like the tip of an iceberg. I do not think the government is completely aware of all the incidents that are going on because we do not have the vessels to patrol and we do not have the resources. The government has not put forward the resources to make sure that these kinds of things are not happening. That has a direct impact on the livelihoods of people in the communities of Newfoundland and Labrador and Atlantic Canada who depend on fishing. It is simply not acceptable that it occurs over and over again.
It is positive that we are having a debate here tonight. I commend the government. I commend the minister for speaking earlier. I commend my colleague for bringing the issue forward. However we simply cannot debate tonight and think we have done our job and the problem has gone away.
We will continue to raise such issues, but it is dependent upon the minister of fisheries to act on this issue. If he does not, he is accountable and responsible for the effect that inaction will have on the lives of people in Newfoundland and Labrador and Atlantic Canada and by extension the impact it will have on the entire country. When the government fails to address a glaring problem we all pay the price.
Although we are talking about foreign overfishing, it brings to light a particular issue in my own riding involving the department of fisheries. It might seem somewhat small in comparison to the ongoing overfishing issue off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador and Atlantic Canada, but it is somewhat related in that there is inaction on the part of the minister of fisheries.
I asked him a question in the House not long ago in February on the whole issue of dredging the Fraser River, one of the largest rivers in British Columbia. The salmon fishing industry depends on the Fraser and its tributaries. There is a problem in that the Fraser riverbed is getting higher and higher because of gravel accumulation. The communities along the Fraser in my riding and in other ridings have been pleading with the minister and with the government to allow for gravel extraction on the Fraser so the fishery can survive and flooding can be avoided. If that happens it will cause billions of dollars of devastation in the area.
I raised this question with the minister and not a week later found out that the department had already decided not to allow for gravel extraction. As a result some communities will be at risk over and over again because of the government's inaction and its inability to deal with a simple matter.
It seems like a simple matter to take some gravel out of the Fraser River to lower the risk or prevent flooding. The communities in my riding have been asking for that for over five years. It has not happened. It is just another example of the inaction of the government on an important issue that affects communities. It simply will not solve the problem but will add to it by its inaction.
We stand together in this place tonight on this issue because it matters. I should like to read some letters into the record. I may belay that for the benefit of my colleagues. The mayor of two of the largest communities in my riding and the neighbouring riding have raised a local issue concerning the inaction by the Department of Fisheries.
Getting back to foreign overfishing we heard the minister give a speech in the House in this emergency debate. He mentioned that he was concerned about the issue. He has taken some action. We applaud the small action he has taken but it simply will not be enough.
My colleague from Pictou--Antigonish--Guysborough pointed out what is happening in Canso. My other colleagues have pointed out what is happening in other communities. I had the opportunity to be in Atlantic Canada this past summer so I had a chance to visit some of these communities. I know the Speaker has made several trips to Atlantic Canada and is aware of what is happening.