Mr. Speaker, the new regulations of the Canada Shipping Act do not apply to no-ballast-on-board transoceanic vessels. Many of these ships travel through the Great Lakes carrying a number of invasive species in the sediment and water in their ballast tanks. I have deep concerns that this poses a major threat to the environment and to the Great Lakes.
The new regulations of the Canada Shipping Act should require no-ballast-on-board vessels to undertake all measures to eliminate invasive species from their ballast water tanks prior to reaching our shore.
I propose mandatory regulations for such ships requiring them to conduct a saltwater flushing of the ballast tanks at least 200 nautical miles from Canadian waters.
The sustainability of our environment in the Great Lakes is at stake and this flaw in the regulations must not go unaddressed. I call on the government to stand up for the environment and to ensure that offshore ships travelling through our waters are compliant.