Mr. Speaker, I just want to take time to pose a question to my colleague.
In my other life I was the mayor of a town in southern Alberta of 1,700 people. The quality of the water and the concern about supplying safe water was always paramount in our minds. We had to go through different scenarios with different standards being presented. The standards would change and we would have to increase our ability to treat our water.
In subsequent years there was a problem. The mayor at the time, the council, the staff and others worked very hard to correct it. I still live in that town of 1,700, and it is spending over $1 million in upgrading the water treatment plant to meet standards for supplying safe, secure water for the community. That is just one community that is spending spending well over $1 million to upgrade its facility.
The idea of standards that are binding is one thing. We support the motion brought forward today by the Conservatives to have something put in place to deal with that.
I would like to ask my colleague a question about the science needed to test the systems which are in place and the funds required to come up with a water study in Canada which would absolutely place, in some parameters, the condition of our present drinking water systems in Canada. What emphasis does he think should be placed on the science, as well as the standards needed to supply that safe water?