Mr. Speaker, my question is for the very distinguished Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport.
Just a few weeks ago the Government of Nova Scotia and Transport Canada arranged a meeting in Truro, Nova Scotia in my riding to discuss the emergency measure aspects of hazardous material transportation. The plan was to move radioactive material which originated in Russia.
The plan agenda said: “The sample of radioactive material which comes from Russia by ship will enter Canada in Halifax and be moved by road to Chalk River, Ontario early this summer”. This was an unequivocal statement. It was not a conjecture or a proposal. It was stated as a fact. This material would be transferred through Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario and Quebec by road, presenting a significant hazard.
It obviously begs the question as to why we are bringing radioactive material to Canada in any case. We already have a waste disposal problem with radioactive material. Why did the government not respect the unanimous vote in the foreign affairs committee to not bring the material to Canada?
Another obvious question is if the Department of Natural Resources says there has been no request made for this transfer, and there are no plans to bring the material to Canada, why did they plan this meeting in the first place? Again, it was the Department of Transport in conjunction with the province of Nova Scotia.
For the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario, there was no public consultation. Even more disturbing, the emergency measures organizations involved stated this week that they do not have adequate training and do not have equipment for this project.
We now know the meeting has been cancelled and the minister has stated that there is no plan right now to proceed. Obviously there was a plan. Obviously there is some intent here. Obviously there is some intention because the province of Nova Scotia and the Government of Canada let the cat out of the bag by releasing this agenda.
Before any radioactive material is transported through Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario, will there be public consultations and will the people affected along the route have the opportunity to register their objections and concerns? Will the federal government provide adequate training, equipment and protection for all the emergency measures organizations involved along the route of the transfer of radioactive material if it does happen?