The fact nevertheless remains that waste-water contains chemical contaminants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, contaminants such as plastic, pathogenic agents, coliform bacteria and other harmful bacteria and that they may be deposited on riverbeds, as mentioned in the section.
Mr. Chair, I wish to introduce the following motion, notice of which was given last week.
That the committee report to the House that the first environmental act by this Liberal government was to approve the dumping of eight billion litres of raw sewage into the St. Lawrence River and that the committee agrees that the dumping of wastewater into our waterways goes against Canadian efforts to promote clean water.
We are very much aware that water is of course a very important part of our ecosystem. The dumping of waste-water into the St. Lawrence River directly threatens the nature and quality of life of the people who may consume that water. Not for no reason do leading Canadian experts, such as the one from York University whom I cited earlier, say that it can have long-term effects. They also say that, in the long run, a large quantity of pollutants may limit access to the river and the number of days during which people can swim in it. These contaminants may be found at the bottom of the river and in the food chain and may be absorbed by fish, microorganisms, animals and human beings.
The Standing Committee on the Environment and Sustainable Development is studying water management, a fundamental issue. The federal government agreed to allow eight billion—
