Mr. Speaker, I am back. I was here for the 35th, 36th, 37th and 38th Parliaments and now I am back for the 40th. I missed the last Parliament. It feels very good to be back. I had a long apprenticeship on the opposition benches and now I am back with the government.
I want to thank the people of Vancouver Island North, my campaign team, my family and everyone back home who had so much to do with keeping the Conservative Party label and my campaign in full mode for a long period of time. It might have seemed short to people sitting here, but when one is anxious to get back and join the House of Commons, 30 months or so is a long period of time.
I recognize many members of the House, but there are many that I do not recognize. There have been two elections in the meantime and maybe one-third of the membership here is different. I look forward to meeting some of them. I notice that three members in the House of Commons share my last name. I was alone for four Parliaments. I have introduced myself and it is very interesting to find out that we are from three different parties and three different parts of the country. It just goes to show the Scottish diaspora carries on unabated across Canada and we continue to make a valuable contribution.
The riding of Vancouver Island North is the north half of Vancouver Island and the adjacent coastline. It is one of the biggest ridings in Canada. It has many challenges geographically and physically from a transportation standpoint. The riding consists of mountains, lakes, ocean and year-round golf. It is a very special place.
Parts of the riding are very resource dependent. It is the wood basket for the coast. It has a very active fishing industry. Port Hardy is the largest groundfish port in the province. On the west coast, there is a very large fishing fleet out of that community, Campbell River and Comox. It has an active mining sector and tourism sector.
Comox air force base is a very significant DND asset in the country. Of course there are a lot of retirees. The Comox Valley, as an entity, where about 60% of the population of the riding resides, has the third oldest age demographic in Canada because it is such an attractive place for seniors. It is well connected to the Canadian air traffic transportation network, with Comox airport, Campbell River and Port Hardy all tied in with the grid for Canada.
Also, 23 first nations are in the riding. It is very significant in my portfolio. Those first nations are a very important dynamic within the riding. The accomplishments of the government in the 39th Parliament did not go unnoticed. I received endorsements in my riding from first nations. I enjoyed working with them, and continue to do so.
They are very impressed with the accomplishments. Specifically, the ones most often mentioned are the residential schools settlement and the apology, the action we have taken on specific land claims and, specific to British Columbia, the acceptance of the common table negotiations involved with the B.C. treaty process.
Those will act as a segue to talk about the Speech from the Throne. The Speech from the Throne had two significant and overarching statements regarding aboriginal affairs and northern development. I was pleased to listen to the comments of the Minister of Natural Resources prior to my speaking where she talked about the Arctic, northern development, clean energy, sovereignty and other resource issues and northern issues that are important.
The throne speech talked about first nations education and our northern strategy. The government is working to ensure aboriginal peoples have access to the same educational opportunities as other Canadians. We are working to improve education in partnership with the provinces and the first nations communities. We are committed to improving educational outcomes for aboriginal people. It is a shared responsibility in which governments, communities, educators, families and students all have a role to play.
We believe that first nations students deserve an education system that will encourage them to stay in school, graduate and give them the skills they need to enter the labour market successfully and share fully in Canada's economic opportunity.
That is why we invested in a new reforming first nations education initiative that sets the long-term foundation for improvements in first nations education. We are investing $268 million over five years and ongoing funding of $75 million in subsequent years. This is for the first nations student success program and for the education partnership program. This funding is over and above existing investments in education of $1.7 billion in 2008-09.
I have a couple of examples. Last year we signed a memorandum of understanding with the New Brunswick first nations and the Province of New Brunswick to improve educational outcomes of first nations students in band and provincially-operated schools in that province. Last November, the First Nations jurisdiction over education in British Columbia act came into effect in B.C. which has led to negotiations with 13 first nations.
We continue to make major investments to support a wide range of school infrastructure projects, ranging from study and design, renovation, minor repairs and construction, to operation and maintenance. Since April 2006, we have completed 9 new schools and renovations to 18 schools. We have 67 ongoing school projects, 13 are at the design stage, 9 in new construction and 45 in renovations.
We have seen unprecedented efforts from our government toward the north. We have been continuously committed to help the region realize its true potential as a healthy and prosperous region within a strong and sovereign country. The northern strategy is a comprehensive and integrated vision for a new north built on four important priorities: strengthening sovereignty, protecting our environmental heritage, promoting economic and social development, and improving and devolving governance so that northerners have greater control over their destinies.
From the Speech from the Throne to budget 2008, our government announced concrete measures to implement that vision, including: geological mapping to enhanced economic development; the expansion of the Nahanni National Park; construction of a deep water port in Nanisivik and a commercial harbour in Pangnirtung; the expansion of the Canadian Rangers; investments in polar year projects, in housing and in improving living conditions; and the creation of a Canadian Forces Arctic training centre in Nunavut, in Resolute Bay.
Perhaps the signature of the government's legacy in the north is the investments in a new polar class icebreaker to replace the Canadian Coast Guard ship, Louis St. Laurent, and plans to build a world-class, high Arctic research station at the cutting edge of Arctic science.
We are committed to the north and northerners and we will continue to work with the three territories to ensure northerners are full partners and active decision makers in the future of the new north.