Madam Speaker, I have been following this debate and have certainly attempted to listen closely. I have listened very closely to the government members and their discussion over the language of the motion.
I would like to put the motion on the record:
That this House deplore the attitude of the Prime Minister of Canada at and following the First Ministers' Conference of October 26, 2004, and that it call on the federal government to immediately implement its pledges of June 5 and 27, 2004, to allow the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia to keep 100% of their provincial offshore oil and gas revenues.
To talk about language is sheer lunacy. This is not a bill. This is not something that the government takes tomorrow and turns into cold hard cash and then revenue flows into Atlantic Canada. This is a motion that could become a bill. The government gets to manipulate and change the wording of the motion if it cares to implement it. Do not give me this trivial foolishness and excuse that somehow this motion cannot be accepted by Liberal members on the government side. That is absolute sheer lunacy.
This offshore accord for Newfoundland and Nova Scotia is a greater tragedy than the Ocean Ranger.