Mr. Speaker, recently we agreed in this House that lacrosse would be recognized as Canada's summer national sport.
This bill has now received royal assent. We have learned that the Minister of Canadian Heritage is in possession of a report which would eliminate all funding for lacrosse.
The minister's office assured me that this was not the official position of the government. Then his parliamentary secretary told us recently in this House that a decision on this will not be forthcoming until late summer.
This puts the men's national lacrosse team in a desperate situation. It hopes to compete in the world championships in England this July but will not be able to unless recognition of its status is forthcoming.
I call on the minister to make a decision immediately on our national summer sport which will then allow our national team to compete for Canada in the upcoming world championships.