Madam Speaker, there is another part of this deal that is very troubling to my constituents, the residents of Vancouver Island. It is the maritime section of CETA.
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union released a statement about this portion of the trade deal. In that statement, they said, “The maritime section of CETA will destroy the Canadian maritime industry as it exists today by ending what is known as cabotage.”
Some members might ask “What is cabotage?” Cabotage is the protection under the Coast Trading Act. It is a measure that protects our coastal trade by requiring any vessel trading within Canada to be Canadian owned, operated, and crewed.
Cabotage protects jobs, our environment, and our economic health. If CETA goes forward, it will destroy the protection of cabotage. It will allow foreign-owned vessels to work the coastal waterways they are currently banned from. It will allow cheap foreign labour from foreign countries to run their ships, putting our Canadian seafarers out of work. These foreign countries' ships will not pay taxes in Canada. This is an unfair labour advantage.
Will this coastal MP from Vancouver Quadra stand up for coastal British Columbians, stand up for seafarer jobs, and stand up for B.C.'s economy?