Mr. Speaker, my colleague from Saskatchewan is my previous neighbour on the same floor in the Confederation Building. We have had many opportunities to talk about various issues.
With regard to the defining difference the member raised, we are looking at banning persistent oils under a definition that is internationally recognized. These are oils that once they enter a marine or terrestrial environment, are very difficult to dissipate. If there is an incident with respect to non-persistent oils, such as the natural gas he has stated, there is a greater rate of evaporation, which makes it easier to minimize the environmental impacts.
Therefore, as we do with all our legislation in the House, this balances both the economic opportunities for the region with the environmental protections, which are also the backbone of the economic activities in the region today.