Mr. Speaker, in the Liberal platform, it was promised that there would be action on the changes that Stephen Harper made in the omnibus budget bills, particularly the elimination of the Navigable Waters Protection Act. In fact, their platform said, “We will review these changes, restore lost protections, and incorporate more modern safeguards.” Unfortunately, the transport committee came to egregiously weak conclusions, recommending, essentially, keeping in place the Harper regime. Can the Prime Minister commit to restoring protections to Canada’s navigable waters?

Justin Trudeau – Prime Minister

Mr. Speaker, as a government, and personally as a paddler, we are committed to promoting Canada’s sustainable economic development while maintaining a safe transportation system and the protection of our lakes and rivers. Therefore, absolutely, we will consider all input from the independent House of Commons committee on transport, from the public, from indigenous peoples, from provinces and territories, and from a broad range of stakeholders including industry and marine-protection groups. This is something that we feel passionately about and are glad to be moving forward on.

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