That's a great question.
It's actually a hard one to answer because national defence is a department that ensures Canadian security. I would imagine it's subject to security imperatives that go beyond the concerns of cities like mine. I get that.
However, your question is relevant. I would say that, at the very least, information must be shared.
We can't stand by doing nothing when we know there's contamination. I'm not saying the contamination is deliberate, but as soon as someone knows there's contamination, there's a social responsibility. Beyond the fact that national defence is responsible for Canadian security, it also has a social responsibility to ensure the health and safety of people living on Canadian soil. That absolutely has to be taken into account.
When I answered your colleague's question earlier, I would have liked to add one thing. TCE presents no danger now, but the fact remains that the soil in the town of Shannon is still contaminated with TCE. We have some knowledge now, but will we discover something else 20 years from now? I don't know.
We know that we live on contaminated ground, and that's always going to be a concern. It matters. It's extremely important. National defence needs to be more responsive when it comes to communicating and being transparent in this type of situation. Every time this kind of thing happens, people lose trust in the Canadian government. That's serious because these are Canadian citizens living in Canada.
Basically, the government has to be transparent, it has to be open, it has to communicate and, above all, it has to collaborate. Those are the key words to keep in mind.