Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague has done a tremendous amount of work as a British Columbia MP to make this gateway strategy a reality.
Aboriginal communities are consulted on this. In fact, they are an integral part of the gateway strategy.
There is no other body that will do what the advisory body will do. If there had been another advisory body, we would have utilized that body, but there is no other group that has the mandate to do what the advisory body has to do in order to make this a reality.
There is one point I wanted to touch on and did not, and which is very important given the environment that we live in today. That is the issue of security. Part of this gateway strategy is an investment in port security. It is of concern to everybody that if we were not able to invest in the port security that is required, it would leave Canada and other countries open to threats, in particular explosive devices that could cause a significant problem.
We have not only created these arteries but we have also made an investment in the security of these arteries, which is very important. Not only will these areas be an east-west conduit but this gateway will also be a north-south conduit. Ports like Prince Rupert shave off two days with respect to the time at sea between the Far East and North America. Another important initiative we need to bear in mind with respect to the gateway strategy is it has a significant security component.