Mr. Speaker, to celebrate oceans and defend the coast, Oceans Day Sunday on my home island of Gabriola drew hundreds, and on Friday, Nanaimo celebrates too. We are all in this together. Healthy oceans keep us healthy.
Clean coastal waters generate tens of thousands of B.C. jobs and billions in economic activity, from tourism to film to fisheries.
However, the ocean is taking the brunt of climate change, and oil tanker spills from the Prime Minister's pipeline risk everything, so B.C. people are taking action.
Thirty-six thousand businesses just voted for the Liberals to include recycling solutions in their abandoned vessel bill. New Democrats built plans to end marine plastic pollution and move open-net salmon farms on land. Coastal folks want endangered orcas protected and oil spill response tightened. We are going to stop freighters' free parking in the Salish Sea.
We owe our oceans everything. It is far past time to honour them with action.