Mr. Speaker, in September the fishing vessel the Melina and Keith II sank off the Newfoundland coast with a loss of four lives, one dying only 15 minutes before rescue arrived. It took a half an hour to verify the original distress signal and determine the location. This is understandable.
Can the minister tell the House why it took another two hours to get a chopper in the air, particularly when the distress signal was received while the search and rescue crew was still on shift?