Mr. Speaker, as I identified earlier, 900 vessels are set to retire on B.C.'s coast, and 90 of them are over 500 tonnes. BC Ferries has 14 of those vessels. One of those vessels, the Queen of Burnaby, is projected to cost over $10 million to recycle. Half that money is to tow it to a yard in Halifax through the Panama Canal. Nobody thinks that is okay.
If the government prioritizes funding for ship repair, maintenance and recycling infrastructure in the upcoming federal budget, Canada can help solve an economic leakage. It can help deliver on its trade, defence and environmental objectives while building an indigenous-led, world-class marine capacity on the west coast when it comes to ship recycling.
We have seen what it looks like in Union Bay when it is done wrong. We are trying to bring a solution that plugs an economic leakage, protects our environment and creates well-paying jobs.