Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for Nanaimo—Cowichan for her tireless work and the time she has devoted toward the protection of the west coast fishery and the pristine waters which we all know need to be protected.
There is a word that the Minister of Natural Resources has been using lately with regard to this moratorium. He slips it in rather quickly in his prepared answers. It is the word “voluntary”, that it is somehow a voluntary moratorium. In other words, we are to trust Exxon or British Petroleum, BP, to voluntarily avoid damaging the environment off the west coast. Come on, I say to the government. Surely it is the role of the government as the representative of the people of Canada to ensure that the resource is protected and that the moratorium has the force of law.
It was interesting to hear the proposal from Enbridge to put a pipeline 1,100 kilometres long across the Rocky Mountains, to take bitumen to huge tankers that would then be sent off across the ocean. The risks involved in this are enormous. Once again we are dealing with the question of whether the tankers will be allowed.
I believe we are setting up for a massive battle with the oil and gas companies around these issues, and we need every tool at our disposal. This budget takes away one of those key tools.
I have one final comment. The Leader of the Opposition has mused about how perhaps the Liberal senators in the other place will somehow save us from this Conservative government. I ask the Liberal members to stand up in this place and join with us in stopping the government from doing what it intends to do.