Mr. Speaker, with regard to water and waste water infrastructure, the government has taken an initiative by investing over $2 billion. Specifically in my riding with 14 small municipalities many have had boil orders in the past.
The infrastructure program extends not only to the water system itself but extends to the waste water system. Water contamination is frequently the result of improper waste water management. The government has made enormous progress as far as investing $2.2 billion in water and waste water management.
The government has also looked at strengthening the National Water Research Institute. It has looked at developing stronger national guidelines for water quality. It is doing research and development in better land use practices, which means the protection of our surface water and our ground water sources. Some of it is common sense. In layperson terms, one does not put a chemical plant within 100 feet of a municipal well head or municipal lagoon. That is an example of better land use practice. More research and development are being done into land use practices.
I look forward to working with the New Brunswick Environment Industry Association to organize our second annual drinking water conference entitled “Your Drinking Water: Ensuring Its Safety”. This conference will further educate people from across Canada on the perils and the contaminants potentially in our water source and how to assess and remedy them.