Madam Speaker, the 1914 White Rock Pier landmark, the longest pier in Canada, brings locals and tourists to our coastal beauty, to small businesses like Cosmos and Uli's restaurants, and to delicious ice cream sold alongside the beach promenade. In non-pandemic times, the pier and Marine Drive host events like Picnic on the Pier, the summer concert series, the Sea Festival, Semiahmoo Days and Canada Day by the Bay, with awesome fireworks.
In 2018, our pier was broken in half by 90-kilometre winter winds. I watched the daring helicopter rescue of a visitor stuck at the wrong end of the damage. After a silent spring and summer, the pier reopened with a $4.3 million repair funded by the city, the province and the community, but it remains structurally fragile. Urgent reinforcement is necessary. It is a shovel-ready infrastructure project. Sincerely, the federal government needs to step up. It must act now to save this west coast icon.