Mr. Speaker, in my previous assignment with Foreign Affairs, travelling the world and visiting a number of very exotic places, it was remarkable how often those entrusted with the protection and conservation of special places in those countries remarked that many of their practices had been modelled on the work of Parks Canada over the past century and a quarter. Banff National Park was created just over a century and a quarter ago. The National Parks Act dates back just over a century.
I thank my colleague for the opportunity to remark on the accomplishments of the past seven years. Nahanni, which I spoke to in my remarks, and Nááts'ihch'oh on the northern boundary of Nahanni have been created. However, more important, I am encouraged and delighted by the ambition of some of our environmental non-governmental organizations that want us to press on, perhaps faster than we have the capacity to achieve.
With regard to our national marine-protected areas, the major areas already protected by Parks Canada are the Haida reserve, Gwaii Haanas, Lake Superior, the largest freshwater protected space in the world, Saguenay-St. Lawrence in the St. Lawrence River and Tobermory's famous Fathom Five. We are working on three new marine-protected areas at the moment in the south Georgia Strait, the Îles de la Madeleine and Lancaster Sound in the High Arctic.