Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question. In fact, I was able to understand it 100%, even 150%, because he spoke in French. I appreciate that.
The climate change file has become much more important to the harbour file than it was before. Waves and tides cause wear over time, but climate change is causing sea levels to rise. Fall and winter storms are now much worse than they used to be, and that affects infrastructure.
I do not remember the exact date, but a few years ago, senior departmental officials appeared before the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans. I asked them if they had analyzed the impact of climate change on small craft harbour infrastructure. Their response was as disappointing as the current Conservative government's compliance with the Kyoto accord. The Conservative government is being just as irresponsible about the Kyoto accord as it is about climate change. That is why some of the recommendations address this issue. We will come back to this subject often. We will fight this fight every day. We have to have a better understanding of climate change because it certainly does have repercussions.
Recently, I saw a report about communities of people who lived on disappearing islands. The people were forced to leave. Not only were they leaving their birthplace, their heritage, but they were ending up in slums. That is another reality of climate change. There is a human aspect as well as an economic one.
The impact of climate change is extreme. I see it first hand every time I go to the Gaspé or the Magdalen Islands. Storms are much bigger than they used to be, so they have a much more negative impact on small craft harbour infrastructure.