Mr. Speaker, the Quebec City marine rescue sub-centre is under threat of closure by Fisheries and Oceans, allegedly because that will save $1 million. From now on, calls from Quebec will be handled in Halifax and Trenton, two centres that will require costly expansion work in order to accommodate Quebec City.
What is more, the criteria for selecting francophone agents to answer distress calls have been watered down recently, which is unacceptable. By closing the Quebec City centre, the government is putting the lives of francophones at risk and wasting a lot of money. Can the minister explain the logic behind this decision?