Mr. Speaker, last week's shutdown of a Department of Immigration building was just a wake-up call. The probability of a biological or chemical attack may seem low, but the consequences can be very high.
According to Emergency Preparedness Canada “There appears to be a general sense of complacency with regard to biological risk on the grounds that legislation guidelines are seen as both sufficient and respected”.
Does the government have a comprehensive plan to deal with both chemical and biological terrorism beyond a normal emergency response, which Emergency Preparedness Canada has indicated would not be feasible?
Even former president Bill Clinton admits that he stayed awake at night worrying about the risk of biological terrorism. He even asked congress to spend $2.8 billion to beef up security and research.
In closing, protecting the people of the country is the government's job. Does the government have any strategies to do that in the face of potential chemical and biological terrorism?