Thank you, Mr. Speaker and colleagues. Commencing in 1972, the Mackenzie was used primarily to train 40 to 50 naval officers at a time. They learned how to handle ships, navigation, organization and administration; all important elements in our Canadian military.

After the Mackenzie was retired in 1993 --they call it the "pay- out" --rather than sell this beautiful ship for scrap metal, she was sunk off Vancouver Island in Sydney Harbour to provide an artificial reef. Her anchor was sent to Yellowknife and sits in front of the military headquarters down the street from us. Now that this beautiful ship has settled on the bottom of the Pacific where there was previously nothing but sandy ocean bottom, she will attract a variety of marine life and divers from all over the world, who will carry out observation work under the sea, to see how an artificial reef functions. It will provide many more years of usefulness to Canada.

So that is the model of the ship in the foyer. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause