Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Members will recall that yesterday I had asked the Minister responsible for the forest fire management program some questions about safety and maintaining standards to ensure the safety of our firefighters. As we are probably heading into the worst forest fire season in history, such considerations are more than important. I believe they are crucial.

Mr. Speaker, the request for proposals to provide air tanker services to the forest fire management program specifically sets out the minimum standards for both the aircraft and the pilot to fly them. For pilots, the standards are primarily measured in hours flown in a particular forest fire environment.

In response to my question about these standards yesterday in the House, Mr. Morin said, and I quote from unedited Hansard: "When you go to a proposal call, you want to find out what other contractors have to offer so you can carry out similar types of business with maybe less standards."

Mr. Speaker, I find this response quite disturbing. Does this mean that the minimum number of hours of experience required for a pilot to fly a plane into the heart of a fire is not really the minimum, that it is negotiable? I certainly hope not. I understand that some of the pilots do in fact lack the necessary experience to engage in this dangerous activity and they have been practising their skills on training flights. However, training is a poor substitute for actual experienced flying and the difficult conditions associated with firefighting.

Mr. Speaker, the concerns of my constituents about safety are real. I understand that forest firefighting can be risky. However, it is the responsibility of this government to ensure that every possible precaution is taken to keep our firefighters safe.

The Bird Dog officers who are concerned about flying right now have a wealth of experience between them. This experience has helped us fight fires effectively and safely with the least possible risk to the people in the air and on the ground. If the officers have concerns...I seek unanimous consent, Mr. Speaker, to continue with my statement.