Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, last month I think it was, I made a statement about the oil spill in the Soviet Union. During the last week, we heard of yet another major oil spill in roughly the same area in the remote part of Russia, in the colder areas, much the same as our Canadian Arctic. Although it is not as large as the first one reported, it is, nonetheless, a very serious event.

On the weekend news reports, they were showing pictures of massive flares that were used for burning off the oil. Madam Speaker, this is a very primitive way of cleaning up oil spills on land. Other techniques are much more environmentally friendly than using flare burns. More alarming than all of this was the fact that the Russians declined to accept offers by Canadian and US governments to help in these clean-ups. We know that the Canadian and American oil and gas industries have the technical know how and equipment to deal with oil spills. It surprises me and a lot of people that the Russians have not taken up the offer to clean up these major environmental disasters.

Why we must be concerned here, Madam Speaker, is that the area that these events have taken place lead, by water, to the Arctic Ocean. If something isn't done before spring, there is a good chance that the Arctic waters will suffer some environmental damage as a result of oil flowing into the water during spring break-up, eventually ending up in our Arctic Ocean.

With the detente that has taken place, and the way that northern Canadians have been helping Russians to build and do other things in the last little while, I am surprised they haven't taken up the offer. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

---Applause