Oil Tanker Moratorium Act  Mr. Speaker, I want to tell all Canadians, members, and constituents that our government is very much committed to protecting our oceans and marine mammals. We have seen ministers, up to the Prime Minister, talk a great deal about the importance to our government of advancing those issues.

Oil Tanker Moratorium Act  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate a number of comments the member across the way has made. Again, when we take a look at this particular bill, I see it as a positive bill that reflects the wishes and desires of a majority of Canadians in wanting to see the moratorium put in place. In that sense, it is a positive piece of legislation.

Oil Tanker Moratorium Act  Mr. Speaker, it is truly amazing how the member across the way tries to give a false impression. Never before have we had a Prime Minister who has done such a fabulous job in trying to build and re-establish a relationship with first nations people. For years in opposition, for example, I would say to the then Prime Minister Harper—

Oil Tanker Moratorium Act  Mr. Speaker, when Stephen Harper was the prime minister, for years we were saying we wanted to have a public inquiry on the murdered and missing women and girls, but Harper closed a deaf ear to it. Within months we had one established. We have a Prime Minister who is committed to all the recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Oil Tanker Moratorium Act  Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier when reflecting on the last election campaign, we have a government that made a commitment, which is now being fulfilled. The New Democratic Party supports this piece of legislation, and the Green Party representative supports it. It seems to me that the Conservative Party continues to be out of touch with what Canadians expect of government.

Oil Tanker Moratorium Act  Mr. Speaker, the member opposite tries to give the impression that Alberta is not doing all that well compared to the rest of Canada. Sadly, under the Harper government we saw massive job losses and a massive number of bankruptcies and so forth. The economy has been getting better and the middle class has been getting healthier because of good, positive policy coming out of our government and because of the fine work Canadians are doing.

Oil Tanker Moratorium Act  Mr. Speaker, I find it amazing that the member across the way has no problem making these comments, given the type of information on the record. She talks a great deal about the province of Alberta, and justifiably so. This government has been focused on Alberta. If we take a look at what Albertans, and Canadians as a whole, have been able to accomplish, we see that Alberta is leading the way on many different economic fronts today.

Oil Tanker Moratorium Act  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate very much that the NDP as a whole is fairly supportive of the legislation. We believe it is long overdue. It is a commitment we made in the last election campaign. Fulfilling this particular commitment in this legislation is a positive step forward. One of the issues that has come to light over the last while is with regard to the transportation of oil and getting oil to tidewater.

Oil Tanker Moratorium Act  Mr. Speaker, Bill C-48 fulfills a commitment the Liberals made in the last election to put in a moratorium. The government has been very clear in terms of how important our oceans are. We have seen literally hundreds of millions of dollars over a number of years invested in protecting our oceans, our marine life, and so forth.

Questions on the Order Paper  Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.

Oil Tanker Moratorium Act  Madam Speaker, one of the election commitments the government made in the lead-up to October was that we would bring in a moratorium, understanding and appreciating that the public desire is to see a government deal with our oceans and protect them, whether it is with the investment of literally hundreds of millions of dollars or the moratorium.

Oil Tanker Moratorium Act  Madam Speaker, I believe that there is consistency and that the government has been very straightforward right from the beginning when taking office two years ago. Because of that consistency, unlike the Harper government, we have actually been successful in dealing with the environment and our oceans and ensuring that there is a pipeline.

Visitability  Madam Speaker, I appreciate the many positive and encouraging words I have heard this morning on a very important initiative. My colleague and friend has identified an issue that Canadians can also relate to, the issue of accessibility. I am proud of the fact that my home province and home city have shown fairly strong leadership on this issue.

An Act to amend the Tobacco Act and the Non-smokers’ Health Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts  Madam Speaker, on a point of order, I would suggest that there might be unanimous consent to see the clock at 1:30 at this time so we could begin private members' business.

An Act to amend the Tobacco Act and the Non-smokers’ Health Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts  Madam Speaker, I think is it worthy of noting, as we see the industry growing, that there is always concern in terms of the impact it might have on young people. It is one of the reasons government needs to be involved. Often we do not give enough credit to young people nowadays, in particular when we look at our high schools.