Fisheries Act  Mr. Speaker, the government got a couple of things wrong in its response to my bill, so I am happy to correct the record and give members something to think about before the vote. The parliamentary secretary said that we have no evidence that the environment is sacrificed to pursue the economic development of British Columbia's aquaculture industry.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table petition e-463, which was initiated by Alexander Morton and was signed by more than 7,000 Canadians. The petitioners are concerned about the threat from disease, pollutants, and sea lice originating in open-net salmon farms. They are calling on the government to protect west coast wild salmon and to support Bill C-228, my private member's bill, that would transition harmful salmon farms to safe, reliable closed containment systems.

Fisheries and Oceans  Mr. Speaker, last week another whale died after becoming entangled at an open net salmon farm in British Columbia. That is two dead whales in three weeks. The science and the evidence is clear. Open net salmon farms are literal death traps for marine mammals. My bill before Parliament aims to transition harmful open net salmon farms to safe closed containment systems to protect marine mammals and wild salmon.

Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, the Kinder Morgan pipeline will triple the capacity of the current pipeline and increase tanker traffic in Vancouver's harbour seven-fold. The likelihood of a spill from the pipeline or a tanker is as high as 97%, which would devastate the environment and the economy of the entire region.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table a petition for my home province of British Columbia. Petitioners are calling on the government to help save wild salmon by supporting my bill, Bill C-228, which transitions harmful open net salmon farms in British Columbia to safe, reliable, closed-containment systems.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present petitions today, again from residents of my home province of British Columbia. Petitioners are opposed to Kinder Morgan's new bitumen-based, export only, crude oil pipeline which will run from Edmonton to Burnaby. Among other things, they are concerned about the damage the pipeline will cause to our environment.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, as support for my private member's bill continues to grow right across the country, today I am pleased to table a petition from the prairie provinces calling for the adoption of my bill, Bill C-228. The petitioners are asking the government to show leadership and embrace the innovation and technology that will help save wild salmon and make Canada a world leader in sustainable aquaculture.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House and table another petition in support of my bill to help save wild salmon. The petitioners, mostly from Chilliwack, British Columbia, know that west coast wild salmon are under threat from sea lice, pollution, and diseases originating from open net cage farms.

Fisheries and Oceans  Mr. Speaker, then why is the government fighting them in court? A humpback whale was found dead, entangled in an empty net at a salmon farm near Campbell River. This is the second time a whale has been entangled in this fish farm in three months. The last time, a juvenile humpback was trapped and needed to be rescued at this same site.

Fisheries and Oceans  Mr. Speaker, the government should do the right thing: immediately return to the one year licence regime; respect Justice Cohen's recommendations; and commit to protecting wild salmon by supporting my private member's bill, Bill C-228 to transition west coast open net salmon farms to safe closed containment systems within five years.

Fisheries and Oceans  Mr. Speaker, I am following up on my question about the Liberal government's decision to extend the licences for open net salmon farms, from one year to six years, with no public input, no first nations consultation, and no environmental assessment. The minister said that the government would be making decisions based on “scientific advice and the rigorous scientific standards that are required”. the government is not.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I rise to present two e-petitions today. The first is a petition that calls on the government to order a federal environmental review of the Massey Tunnel replacement proposal. The petitioners' concerns are numerous and I will highlight a couple of them. They are concerned about the risk to the ecology of the Fraser River Estuary impacting wildlife in the region as well as risks to commercial, recreational, and first nations fisheries.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to also present an e-petition initiated by Michael Donovan from Calgary, Alberta with 1,071 signatures collected online from across the country. The petitioners call on the government to ban the importation of all animal parts originating from Africa into Canada for the purpose of trophies.

Fisheries Act  Mr. Speaker, first, I just want to say I am definitely an ardent supporter of wild salmon. It is a critical issue I have been working on for half my life, a quarter of a century. I do want to point out that the bill is specific to Canada's west coast, so it is really just focused on British Columbia.

Fisheries Act  Mr. Speaker, that is a great question. In fact, I invited all my colleagues, and I know the hon. members for New Westminster—Burnaby and Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, as well as a number of other colleagues, came to visit Kuterra, which is the leading salmon farm that uses closed containment technology in British Columbia.