Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to raise a question again in follow-up to a question that I put to the Minister of Health on April 2. That question related to what action Health Canada had taken to address the incidents of cancer in a northern aboriginal community in Alberta, Fort Chipewyan. The reply was very unsatisfactory, generally along the lines that a lot of money had been spent on aboriginals and health in Canada, so what was my complaint.
I hope I might get a more satisfactory reply today. Why am I doing this? As a member of the Standing Committee on the Environment and Sustainable Development, our committee travelled to Alberta several weeks ago. We travelled directly to the community of Fort Chipewyan, where we heard directly from the persons about whom Dr. John O'Connor raised concerns. That community repeated its concerns to our committee with regard to the incidents of cancer and the pollutants that came from the tar sands and other facilities.
We also held hearings in Edmonton, where we heard testimony from scientists who revealed their recent study showing that the air emissions from the tar sands facilities were likely contaminating the rivers. They were concerned that the ponds were already leaching into the river and that there was evidence that there was already a problem.
My concern is that Health Canada appears to have disappeared from the scene. The only role to date that Health Canada appears to have played in its responsibility in watching out for and speaking up for the health concerns of the first nation peoples in northern Alberta, which is its constitutional responsibility, is to simply file complaints against the very doctor who simply revealed that he had concerns.
Therefore, my question in the House was this. Was Health Canada willing to finally withdraw the final charge that it had filed with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta? The other four charges had already been investigated and dropped for no evidence.
I am also looking forward to hearing, given the evidence that we have heard in the parliamentary committee, if Health Canada is now going to step up to the plate. Is it willing to invest dollars in looking into whether there are potential relationships between these health incidents of the first nations peoples of northern Alberta and industrial activities that the federal government regulate? Is it going to go to DFO and to Environment Canada and ask them to do more intensive monitoring to discover if there is a connection to the pollution?
I look forward to a more detailed reply by Health Canada as to whether it is going to investigate the matter further.