Mr. Speaker, despite repeated calls by myself and several of my fellow citizens to the ministers who have been responsible for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans since 1995, the problem caused by shoreline erosion is constantly getting worse.
The government tried to lull us with empty and falsely reassuring replies. We were told that the speed of the ships that travel through the most sensitive areas was monitored and that the industry had in fact implemented voluntary measures to reduce the speed of its ships.
However, thanks to the vigilance of a Contrecoeur resident, Dr. Jacques Desrosiers, who conducted a systematic check of the speed of the ships that went by Saint-Ours island between mid-March and April 2004, we know that this is not at all the case. Indeed, 25% of the 100 ships checked were travelling at a speed deemed acceptable under the standards set, while 75% were cruising at a high or very high speed.
What is the government waiting for to implement more strict and effective measures to monitor the speed of ships on the St. Lawrence River? The federal government has a responsibility regarding shoreline erosion, and it must assume that responsibility before the damage becomes irreversible, which is almost the case already.