Sheila Malcolmson

[Fisheries and Oceans, October 19th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, these are all good words, but without any legislation to back them up, I am afraid that coastal communities are going to be asked to wait again. The money announced by the government for abandoned vessel removal is a drop in the bucket, given the scale of the problem. There are thousands of abandoned vessels. The number is growing as recreational and commercial fleets age, but the budget announcements were only, to Transport Canada, $300,000 for this year and, to Fisheries and Oceans Canada, $260,000 for this year. The price tag for the Viki Lyne II removal alone was $1.2 million.

Given the tiny budget announcement and the backlog of thousands of abandoned vessels, it will take multiple decades to deal with them all at this pace.

My legislation would get taxpayers off the hook by fixing vessel registration and creating a fee to help cover the cost of vessel disposal. In the absence of the government having its own legislation to offer the House, will it adopt my legislation, Bill C-352, to solve the long-standing pollution problem of abandoned vessels?

[Fisheries and Oceans, October 19th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, last weekend, community volunteers and local governments, tired of waiting, took action themselves by cleaning up abandoned vessels despoiling shorelines in the district of Oak Bay.

Oil spills and marine debris from thousands of abandoned vessels pollute our waterways and put local fishing and tourism industry jobs at risk. For too long, jurisdictional gaps have left coastal communities with nowhere to turn when they need help cleaning up abandoned vessels. It is taking a huge financial toll on local governments and volunteers. Oak Bay's local government paid $4,000. The Province of B.C. paid $10,000. Last fall, the neighbouring municipality of Saanich paid $50,000 to clean up abandoned boats along its shoreline. The Oak Bay local government said that there are more derelict boats to deal with in its area, but it will not be able to afford to pay what it did for this past weekend's cleanup every year.

Coastal volunteers have carried the load of abandoned vessels for too long, when provincial and federal governments should have been taking the lead on this long-standing coastal pollution problem.

Josie Osborne, mayor of the District of Tofino, wrote to me saying:

Derelict and abandoned vessels present a significant and costly risk to coastal communities and marine ecosystems. It is far beyond the capacity of local governments to pay for the removal of derelict vessel or even to navigate the complex, multi-jurisdictional nature of derelict and abandoned vessels. Despite society's wish to deal with wrecked vessels, there is no practical or reasonable framework to preventing and responding to wrecks. Bill C-352 would change this.

From Tofino, B.C., to Fogo Island in Newfoundland and Labrador, coastal communities are urging the Liberal government to adopt my legislation, Bill C-352, to clean up abandoned vessels and protect our waterways and coastlines. These include the Union of BC Municipalities, which last month, at its 1,800 member convention, endorsed my bill; the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities; the District of Oak Bay; the District of Tofino; and altogether more than 50 coastal organizations from both sides of the country. I also have the support of the Ladysmith Maritime Society and marinas, harbours, and port authorities from Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, and British Columbia.

These endorsements highlight that coastal communities cannot wait any longer to fix the abandoned vessels problem. When will the government heed coastal communities' repeated calls for action and adopt my legislation to solve the long-standing problem of abandoned vessels?

[Business of Supply, October 19th, 2017]

Madam Speaker, in my community of Nanaimo—Ladysmith we have a great success story. This is a community built on forestry. It is the foundation of our settlement.

In recent years, Harmac Pacific Mill was purchased largely by its workers. Since that happened in 2008, they have added 150 new jobs. They are using residual wood waste from the pulp mill to invest in a sustainable energy system, one that is big enough to power 18,000 homes. It is at the heart of our economy.

We had one of Harmac Pacific Mill's reps, Cameron Milne, testify at the trade committee a year ago. He talked about the importance of a softwood lumber agreement and how it would support local milling, and thus the production of more sawdust and residual waste. That is the kind of material that is helping to supply pulp mill companies like Harmac Pacific.

I would like to invite my fellow member to comment about some of the collateral benefits of a good softwood lumber agreement that not only helps us with the export side, but also helps with the economy and jobs close to home.

[Status of Women, October 19th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, as the #metoo campaign continues to show the magnitude of sexual assault in our country, Canadian universities just got a grade of C minus for their campus rape policies. Sadly, this is not new. That is why six months ago, New Democrats called on the Liberal government to lead a national coordination of policies to prevent campus sexual assault. Women need more than feminist rhetoric, they need action.

When will this self-proclaimed feminist Prime Minister truly stand up for women and lead this campaign?

[Petitions, October 18th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, to solve, once and for all, the long-standing abandoned vessel problem, I bring again to the House voices from Ladysmith, Nanaimo, Gabriola Island, and Honeymoon Bay calling on the government to vote in favour of my bill, Bill C-352. It would make the Coast Guard the responsible agency, the one-stop shop, for dealing with emergency abandoned vessels and would also institute a program, in co-operation with coastal communities and the provinces, to deal with vessel recycling, finding new markets for fibreglass, and preventing the oil spill risks that abandoned vessels pose. I urge Parliament and the government to take the advice of these petitioners and act now for coastal communities.

[Oil Tanker Moratorium Act, October 4th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I had a speaking spot on this bill this afternoon. It looks like it will not happen now. It is very disappointing. There has been a lot of community pressure for a ban along these lines brought forward by some of my own colleagues in previous parliaments. However, there are a lot of questions that we still have to ask about this bill. For example, the minister is given too much arbitrary power to exempt vessels from the ban and to determine what kind of fuels are included or excluded; we hear that there is not enough consultation with first nations; and the bill does nothing to prevent the kind of spills we saw on the north coast, for example, by the Nathan E. Stewart. That spill was calamitous for the shellfish industry and the maritime jobs of the Heiltsuk people.

If the government is so proud of this bill and so ready to go forward with it, why not give the official opposition and the progressive opposition the ability to ask questions and offer our ideas now in the House where everyone can see our work on this issue?

[Indigenous Affairs, October 4th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, today as we honour the lives of murdered and missing indigenous women, girls, and two-spirited people, families and survivors are on the front steps of Parliament calling for justice.

The United Nations Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women condemned Canada for failing to end violence against indigenous women. Shockingly, over 700 recommendations have gone unanswered by successive governments. What will the Prime Minister do now so there are no more stolen sisters?

[Indigenous Affairs, October 4th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, today we honour the lives of murdered and missing indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit people. On the front steps of Parliament and all across the country over 200 communities are holding Sisters in Spirit vigils, including the Vancouver Island University student union in Nanaimo—Ladysmith, the riding I serve.

I salute the advocacy and strength of the families and indigenous women's organizations that have brought us to this point and have pushed for change. The United Nations Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women has condemned Canada for failing to end violence against indigenous women and girls. It is time to act to bring justice to families and survivors, and to end violence against indigenous women.

[Indigenous Affairs, October 3rd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, we learned that the Native Women's Association of Canada has yet again been shut out of the first ministers meeting by the government. They asked to be included, and shutting them out speaks volumes to the government's lack of respect for indigenous women's voices. The self-proclaimed feminist Prime Minister promised a nation-to-nation relationship with all indigenous people, so why has the Native Women's Association been barred from today's first ministers meeting? Have indigenous women's voices not been silenced for long enough?

[National Defence, October 2nd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I have heard in this House over 25 times the Minister of Transport and the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard say that they are going to act on abandoned vessels and that legislation is coming, but it has been two years now, and we still do not have legislation. The elements that the member opposite described are all good elements, but none of them can be implemented and none of them have any teeth unless the government introduces legislation into this House.

The removal amount that was offered for this year was $300,000, plus the recent top-up of $260,000. The Viki Lyne II in Ladysmith Harbour that I helped remove cost $1.2 million to remove. That is just one boat.

It has been almost a year since the oceans protection plan was announced. I appreciate the intention of the government, but unless it takes action, those words are meaningless for coastal communities. New Democrats—