Mr. Speaker, it is with a sense of compassion that I am tabling today a petition signed by some 23,000 people asking the federal government to recognize its responsibility in the matter of the contaminated water on the Valcartier military base, provide compensation to victims, decontaminate the affected sites, identify former residents and employees of the Valcartier military base and inform them that they may have been exposed to contaminated water.
I would like to thank all those people and groups as well as a few members of the Shannon citizens' coalition, including Marie-Paule Spieser, the president, Jean Bernier, the vice-president, and Chantal Mallette, who are on the Hill today and who helped make this petition possible.
I take this opportunity to condemn the Conservative government for its lack of compassion towards the victims affected by the TCE contaminated water and toxic fumes. The matter is not resolved just because they paid for infrastructure to provide citizens with potable water. The minister's answers this afternoon to my question about Shannon's contaminated water have not reassured people. In two months, 23,000 people have shown their compassion for the victims of Shannon's contaminated water. They can say their mission is accomplished. There is solidarity in Quebec on this matter.