Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to respond one more time to the member of Parliament for Québec on the issue of providing marine search and rescue coordination services in both official languages and on the future of the centre in Quebec City.
As I have said before, the safety of mariners is the highest priority of the Canadian Coast Guard, and the Government of Canada recognizes that services must be provided in both official languages equally and at all times.
There is not much more to say other than, as the member has indicated, the Minister of Infrastructure, Communities and Intergovernmental Affairs and the Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec announced on behalf of the government on December 18, 2013, that the Canadian Coast Guard marine rescue sub-centre in Quebec City will be maintained.
Mariners, recreational boaters, and fishers in Quebec and Atlantic Canada will continue to be served by a reliable search and rescue network and rescue missions will continue to be coordinated from the marine rescue sub-centre in Quebec and the joint rescue coordination centre in Halifax.
I will take this opportunity to thank the brave men and women across Canada who work very hard to ensure that search and rescue services are available to people in distress.