Mr. Speaker, I would first like to thank those members who spoke this afternoon, especially the member for Vaudreuil—Soulanges, the member for Salaberry—Suroît and the member for the Pontiac. I am very pleased to have the support of the NDP and Liberal members for this very important bill.
The bill comes to us from the Senate. Occasionally that happens, that a bill originates from the Senate. In reply, a huge thanks to retired Senator Wilfred Moore from Nova Scotia, who brought the bill initially forward in 2016. I also want to extend my deepest thanks to Senator Murray Sinclair, who took up the bill and ensured it complied with concerns about the rights of indigenous people as it moved forward. It is very important that the bill has had the review it had by the Senate and that it comes to us finally.
As many people will know, it was held up for an unconscionable length of time and prevented from having a vote by a handful of senators. It is here now and we want to get it passed into law before the House rises in June and an election is called. We want to be able to say, and I hope the Conservatives will want to say this as well, that we are really pleased that we took this step to stop the cruel torture of cetaceans in Canada.
I forgot to thank my friend from Cariboo—Prince George, and I did not intend to overlook his speech, for his kind words toward me. I want to assure him that it is true that there are only two facilities in Canada that still have cetaceans in captivity. However, I am so pleased to say that Vancouver Aquarium already took a voluntary step to ensure that it would not keep whales and dolphins in captivity any longer. The current population count in Vancouver Aquarium facility is one dolphin.
Marineland in Niagara, Ontario still has 50 to 60 belugas, five dolphins and one orca. We are very concerned for the fate of those animals. However, I also want to ensure it is on the record that the goal of the legislation is not to harm any particular business; it is to encourage it to transform, not to be dependent on keeping animals in cruel conditions in order to have a business. As I mentioned, Vancouver Aquarium plans to remain as it has always been, a place where families in the Vancouver area and tourists from all around the world want to visit. Unlike Marineland, it is not a purely commercial activity.
Vancouver Aquarium, as the hon. member for Cariboo—Prince George mentioned, does a lot of stellar research. In fact, Dr. Peter Ross used to run the chemical contaminants program for our oceans within the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. When that program was demolished by the previous government, he was able to continue his research within the Vancouver Aquarium. It also houses the ocean wise program. It has made a transformational change and is not dependent on keeping whales and dolphins in captivity.
Marine Land could do the same. That would be wonderful and it could transform itself into an amusement park. It should consult with the people who run Cirque du Soleil to imagine what kind of entertainment can be offered by human acrobats, using the swimming pool as the base of a theatre.
In any case, I digress. Bill S-203 is ready for passage. It has been thoroughly studied, but we need to take it to committee, as the member for Pontiac has said. I hope, indeed I pray, for continued support from all members on the Liberal benches as well as the New Democratic Party. I hope the Conservatives will change their current view and that we will get the bill passed. There is abundant scientific evidence, evidence from veterinarians, from those who study marine mammals in the wild and marine mammals in captivity. We know that for cetaceans, captivity is torture and it is time we put an end to it.