Mr. Speaker, I rise to table petitions from residents of Nanaimo—Ladysmith who are so concerned about the impact to the environment, the risk of oil spills and marine traffic to the Salish Sea, and the jobs reliant on them.
The petitioners oppose anchorage establishment in the waters off our shores. There is already a lot of anchorage in the Salish Sea. The petitioners point out that while export bulk commodities out of Port Metro Vancouver have increased 40% over the last decade, anchorage use over the same time is up a startling 400%. Sixty percent of bulk carriers stay 10 days or longer, while container ships spend virtually no time at all at anchor.
The petitioners urge the government to look at supply improvements and technical fixes that would prevent this overuse of anchorage in the Salish Sea. We commend the petitioners from Vancouver and Gabriola Island.