Mr. Speaker, the Sydney Tar Ponds are North America's largest toxic waste site. The area contains over 700,000 tonnes of toxic sludge. Toxins include arsenic, lead, tar, benzene, kerosene, polyaromatic hydrocarbons and the list goes on.
Stomach cancer is 78% higher than the rest of Nova Scotia, cervical cancer is 134% higher and brain cancer is 68% to 72% higher.
Instead of taking action, the government is awaiting yet another study. This time it is a computer analysis based on incomplete information, using hypothetical exposures to healthy people to calculate acute health risks. In other words, another stalling tactic. People are sick and dying while the government stalls.
It is very important for the government today to commit to an immediate permanent move for those families living in unsafe neighbourhoods adjacent to the tar ponds in Sydney, Nova Scotia.