Madam Speaker, we are talking about a time-bound moratorium that is premised on traditional knowledge and science in a precautionary manner, to ensure we have a complete understanding of what further offshore drilling would entail, in particular where we are talking about deepwater offshore drilling. This will allow for the scientific and traditional baseline knowledge necessary to ensure we can discuss whether or not there is an actual bulletproof spill cleanup plan to account for a blowout that could occur under winter ice.
This was a crucial issue that was raised when I attended the Arctic offshore drilling review in Inuvik back in 2011. Many people up north were very concerned about that eventuality. This moratorium enables the right knowledge to be gathered prior to making decisions.