Mr. Speaker, sustaining and protecting the environment as well as human life are priorities for the Department of National Defence.
The Tracadie Range was used for various military purposes from 1939 until its closure in 1994. The Department of National Defence agreed to transfer the Tracadie Range to the province of New Brunswick in 1997. The agreement stated:
All environmental contamination...will be remediated or cleaned up by the Department of National Defence at its own risk and expense in a timely fashion.
The agreement clearly demonstrates the Department of National Defence's commitment to assuming its responsibilities with respect to environmental matters. The overall aim of the cleanup work is to allow the re-utilization of the site for forestry and blueberry cultivation as well as recreation and tourism.
A five year plan for ammunitions related areas cleanup of unexploded ordnance was also established and was completed in summer 2001. Thus far, the department has already spent $20 million at the Tracadie Range.
With respect to the putative presence of PCBs and Agent Orange on the site last year, which my hon. colleague referred to in his question, an investigation conducted last June showed no contaminants above provincial guidelines. Moreover, the barrels that were found on the site and mistaken for Agent Orange were indeed orange in colour but full of holes, indicating their use for target practice, not for the storage of toxic contaminants. In this case, as in many others, the Department of National Defence responded promptly.
The Department of National Defence is well aware of the environmental impact of its past and present activities and is committed to addressing environmental issues across Canada in a proactive manner. The Department of National Defence takes its public safety responsibilities very seriously. It has always had an open relationship with local residents, consulting and working with them to respond to their concerns. We also have a close working relationship with Environment Canada and provincial officials and we ensure that all our activities comply with provincial standards and regulations.
As one of the federal government's largest landholders, with responsibility for more than 20,000 square kilometres of land, DND remains deeply committed to minimizing the impact of its activities and operations on the environment. The department's first sustainable development strategy was tabled in 1997. Building on this strategy, in February 2001 the department tabled a new strategy that further took into account the input of an array of stakeholders from inside the defence team, other government departments, non-government organizations and our allies.
The new sustainable development strategy demonstrates our continuing commitment to integrating environment considerations into all the department's activities and practices. A commitment to sustainable development, to the implementation of an environmental management system that is comparable with the International Organization for Standardization, better known as ISO 14001, and to the code of environmental stewardship are all integral components of the defence environmental policy. In accordance with the code of environmental stewardship, the department will integrate environmental concerns into all its activities.
I want to thank the member for Acadie--Bathurst for bringing this forward. I hope we have been able to clarify some of his concerns, that is, there is no Agent Orange or other contaminant on the site.