Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to respond to the hon. member for Halifax West regarding the Deline community concerns about past mining activities involving the Port Radium uranium mine.
The government is taking this matter extremely seriously and is seeking to gain a better understanding of the activities associated with the mining and the transport of the uranium ore.
The Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development has been assigned the lead role in co-ordinating federal government activities. Key to these activities will be the active participation of Natural Resources Canada and Health Canada. A collaborative approach with the Government of the Northwest Territories health and social services department has been established.
The federal ministers are committed to meeting with the Deline community members in the near future to determine an appropriate course of action.
Over the past year the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development has been working in collaboration with the community to address a number of environmental issues of interest to them. Drawing upon this existing good working relationship, a strategy for meeting the information, research and communication needs related to the radiation concerns in the community is being developed with the Deline uranium committee.
In fact we are already working with the Deline uranium committee to answer questions about present day levels of radiation. Current conditions will be assessed through a research proposal developed earlier this year by the committee.
We hope to build on this spirit of co-operation as we work to address concerns about the historic operation of the Port Radium mine and the transportation of ore from the mine. The next steps will be determined as our collaborative work with the community progresses.