Mr. Speaker, Burnaby Lake is one of the jewels of the greater Vancouver area and is home to a wide and fascinating variety of waterfowl species. It is an important part of our quality of life. However, the years of silt coming in have taken its toll on the lake, which is becoming a marshland.
The city of Burnaby, under the leadership of Mayor Derek Corrigan, has been working to obtain federal funding to rejuvenate the lake. The city and the province have already committed to this.
Requests for revitalization funding were rejected by the then Liberal government, which alleged that lake rejuvenation was not part of the mandate of the federal program. Astoundingly, a similar lake revitalization project was approved for Wascana Lake in the riding of the former Liberal finance minister.
It is imperative that the Conservative government break away from the Liberal tradition of favouritism and establish infrastructure funding that is fair, equitable, not subject to political interference, and reflective of the needs of each and every community.
I am hopeful this will be one of the major accomplishments of this Parliament. I urge funding for the rejuvenation of this beautiful asset in our region.