Mr. Speaker, we have been very fortunate because the Lake Winnipeg Research Consortium has done some excellent work. A number of scientists from across Canada and from the freshwater fishery research out of Winnipeg along with a number of universities have participated in the study of Lake Winnipeg.
Lake Winnipeg is actually understudied though as compared to a lot of other lakes. If we look at the Great Lakes, such as Lake Ontario, or Lake Victoria in Kenya, which is a lake of an equivalent size, we are talking about hundreds of studies that have been done. Only about 60 studies have been done on Lake Winnipeg. Last summer I know the number was 57. I am hoping that the number has increased slightly since then.
One of the scientists at the University of Alberta actually compared Lake Winnipeg today to what Lake Erie was 20 years ago when the Mulroney government buckled down and got the job done in cleaning up Lake Erie. It is time to do the same with Lake Winnipeg to ensure that it is there for the long term and is there for the enjoyment of my kids and the next generation, as well as to ensure there is a viable commercial fishing industry and tourism industry for many years to come.