Mr. Speaker, I rise to follow up a question I asked the Prime Minister some weeks ago, a question that was ultimately answered by the Minister of Natural Resources. It is the issue of brownfields and specifically municipally owned brownfield sites.
By way of background, Brantford is a city with a rich, historic industrial base, but as happens on occasion, certain industries have fallen on rough times and have essentially abandoned the city not to be heard from again. These industries have left behind them acres and acres of brownfield sites in Brantford.
One particular site, known municipally as the Greenwich-Mohawk site, consists of approximately 55 acres. This former industrial site has lain dormant for many years. This 55 acre site is in the middle of a residential neighbourhood in close proximity to homes and schools. It consists of the partial remains of unsightly, decrepit, dilapidated buildings, acres of rubble and dangerous contaminated soil.
The city of Brantford has waited years for a private developer to wave a proverbial magic wand and to invest the minimum $12 million necessary to clean up or to remediate this site. No such magic wand is likely to be waved as a prudent developer clearly looks first at the greenfield sites.
It is the position of the Liberal Party that the federal government must play a leadership role in order for abandoned brownfield sites in our cities and communities to be cleaned up once and for all. We have called upon the federal government to assist in funding the remediation for this site.
Last year the then minister of finance, under the Liberal government, committed $12 million for the remediation of the Greenwich-Mohawk site. The election call, however, came before the money could be advanced. The current Prime Minister, obviously aware of the importance to my community of the clean up of that site, made a commitment in January of this year during the election campaign stating, “We'll help you clean up your brownfields”.
The opportunities for development on this land are endless. The city of Brantford mayors and councillors have worked tirelessly on developing an extensive remediation and development strategy that would see this site become a wonderful and useful addition to our city. Our local newspaper has played a lead role in keeping this issue on the front burner. However, without the assistance of the federal government in providing the funds necessary for remediation, this site will continue to remain as a scar on the face of our otherwise attractive city.
Simply put, will the Prime Minister live up to the commitment he made to the citizens of Brantford on January 5 and deliver the $12 million to our city? Will he match the commitment of the previous government?