Mr. Speaker, I am happy to present a petition today on cleaning up and dealing with abandoned vessels. As an MP who represents coastal communities, this concern is raised frequently. There are signatures from several communities on this petition and I want to recognize the many from the Sointula community, an area I am proud to represent.
The petitioners acknowledge that abandoned vessels pose an environmental and navigational hazard. I think of the Zeballos community that has been dealing with this for a long time. They point out that no regulations or programs have established effective measures for the removal and recycling of abandoned vessels and that coastal communities in Canada have called for the government to act on abandoned vessels for decades.
The petitioners call on the government to finally take some action in this area.