Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has said that there has been lots of support for the Liberals' legislation. Let me share some of the comments people have made.
Linda Nowlan, a long-standing environmental lawyer, now with West Coast Environmental Law, said:
These proposed amendments...should go much farther.... For the long arm of the law to be truly effective we need even stronger legal powers like minimum protection standards, and requiring ecological integrity as the foremost priority in MPA.... With a vast area in three seas within our boundaries—and the world's longest coastline— Canada must implement a forceful...Oceans Act.
The World Wildlife Fund has expressed extreme concerns:
proposed regulations will still allow oil and gas...and seismic blasts in 80 per cent of the MPA. These activities threaten whales and other wildlife.
It also says:
We will challenge these proposed regulations through every possible means, and we ask Canadians to join us in expressing their dissent.
A professor of geography at Memorial University said,
Unlike terrestrial parks, marine protected areas...can allow industrial activities which are known to impact marine ecosystems.
Sabine Jessen, of CPAWS, said:
we are concerned the areas being protected do not meet the standard set out under the Convention, and therefore will not actually count toward the target
Where are the supporters of the Liberals' bill?