Madam Speaker, it is a huge privilege today to table petition e-5144, which was signed by 3,444 people from across Canada.
These petitioners cite that Canadians care deeply about the health of the ocean and depend on thriving ocean ecosystems. They say that the cruise ship industry, which we know is important to the economy, is growing quickly and setting new records, year over year, for passengers travelling from and through the west coast of Canada to Alaska. These cruise ships generate significant amounts of pollutants that are harmful to human health, aquatic organisms and coastal ecosystems.
They say that Canada's regulations under the Canada Shipping Act addressing the discharge of sewage and grey water are less stringent than those in the U.S. Pacific coastal states. Canada has brought an interim order to address this discrepancy, but significant loopholes undermine its effectiveness and put ecosystems and food harvesting areas like that in Baynes Sound and the Salish Sea, and communities—