Mr. Speaker, as my colleague well knows, in Atlantic Canada, they receive about $125 per person in ongoing ferry subsidies for operating costs. In British Columbia, it is about $6 per person. In fact, BC Ferries receives only 3% of overall expenditures in funding from the federal government for operating costs, versus Atlantic Canada's 43%.
My colleague will cite that the Liberals provided funding for COVID relief, which they did for Atlantic Canada, too, or loans that have to be repaid by ferry users that accumulate to about $26 million in savings over 25 years. It is nothing compared to the hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies to Atlantic Canada.
Does my colleague believe the current agreements are outdated and need to be modernized? He talked about increases in fuel. BC Ferries, just last week, added a 5% surcharge because of fuel.
Is my colleague going to stand up for our coastal communities today?