Mr. Speaker, the summer boating season is upon us and with it comes the opportunity for my constituents who live near recreational water to bathe in human sewage. Many parents will join their children in boating in Bedwell Bay, up Indian Arm and around Burrard Inlet unaware that passing pleasure craft, small cruise ships and yachts are dumping human waste into their public waters.
For a Liberal government that is telling Canadians it is serious about protecting, safeguarding and cleaning up our environment I would think that ending the dumping of human waste into waters bordering residential areas would be priority number one in an age where Canadians are increasingly aware and concerned about water quality issues. Communities that are not on the short list of no discharge zones are having to battle bureaucracy to have themselves added. In fact the only community, Tribune Bay, which has tried to add itself to the list, is still waiting 16 months later.
Regulations which should have addressed this are 16 months overdue. It is time for the government to act so that my constituents do not have to swim in sewage being dumped in the waters around my riding.