It's an issue we need to address, and I'm sure that many of you have similar challenges. With any mode of transportation, safety is always a key concern. And it is no less so with ports and shipping. The Government of Canada has signed an agreement with five major international ship classification societies, allowing them to certify shipping companies and vessels under the International Safety Management Code. This will help maintain our strict international safety standards for shipping.
Substandard shipping is a key safety issue.
For we are dealing not only with lives, but also with environmental impacts. Canada, along with many countries, has seen the need to tighten the net on substandard shipping through port state control. Canada signed the Paris and Tokyo memoranda of understanding to establish regional systems for the inspection of foreign ships. In that way, we can ensure that foreign flag vessels entering our waters are in compliance with strict safety and anti-pollution standards. Along with our fellow signatories, Canada wants to detect substandard shipping and minimize the threat that it poses to life, property and the marine environment.