Mr. Speaker, a year ago, the federal government prohibited ships wider than 32 metres from going up the St. Lawrence River any further than Quebec City. Today there is a 44-metre-wide ship docked at Sorel-Tracy to take on tens of thousands of tonnes of crude oil.
In 2010, the Auditor General was very critical of the federal government's ability to respond in the event of a marine oil spill.
Can the minister tell us whether the federal government's response capability meets the Auditor General's requirements and prove that it is prepared to respond in the event of a spill, before increasing the frequency of this kind of—