Mr. Speaker, I am certainly sensitive to the history. The hon. member brings up the history of the Kalamazoo spill. That was quite significant, as has been raised in this House, one of the more significant ones in North America.
It is important to point out, though, that what we are talking about essentially is the pipeline depth or distance in the Straits of Mackinac. That has a safe track record of some 60-plus years. Enbridge has put significant funding aside in order to make sure that stretch of the pipeline is even safer, clearly an acknowledgement of the environmental sensitivity of this area. It is a significant improvement.
If we were to go back in time and perhaps make representation of this to previous administrations or Michiganders who live around that area and say this is the intention, no doubt they would see that as good news. As it is right now, that seems to get lost, but it is very important to remember that what is being proposed here is a significant improvement in safety to an area that, as I said, in the Straits of Mackinac, has gone 60-odd years without incident. However, it is important and absolutely vital that we get that balance between the environment and the economy right. I believe that Enbridge is making the right investments to what is a very sensitive environmental area.
There is no question that there is an economic vitality that exists not only for Alberta and Saskatchewan, but also for Quebec and Ontario. It is vitally important that this issue is top of mind when we talk about energy security on our continent.