Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to rise to speak on this motion for a number of reasons that will become self-evident. It is important to take care of the water quality in the Rainy River basin and in Lake of the Woods. As I try to do every time I stand in the House, I talk about my riding of Thunder Bay—Rainy River and what a fabulous place it is and invite everyone in the House to come and visit. The Minister of Industry is certainly welcome, as well as my friends from Perth—Wellington and Winnipeg. They are all welcome to come and see the fabulous waterways and water systems in my riding. My riding is 500 kilometres from Thunder Bay on one end and it ends at Lake of the Woods, so I have a particular interest in the motion.
It is interesting that Lake of the Woods is perhaps the only transnational body of water that is not protected by the International Joint Commission. The motion asks for that to happen and I think that is a good thing. As we go down Highway 11 in my riding, a sign says, “Time Zone Change”. Right after that sign, there is a sign that says, “From this point forward, all streams flow north”. So Rainy Lake, Rainy River, and Lake of the Woods all eventually end up in Hudson Bay and the Arctic Ocean, part of our great planetary ocean system, so it is important that we protect the water. This is an opportunity to have it monitored and to enhance the water quality of Lake of the Woods.
This initiative is particularly interesting because it is really a grassroots initiative, and we in the NDP are very pleased about this. Local residents, cottage owners, owners of small businesses, tourist outfitters, environmental groups and first nations all have been part of the Lake of the Woods ecosystem and the efforts to ensure that the water is clean. The big problem is phosphates and algae blooms. These grassroots groups have been working on this for more than a decade. This will see the responsibility, or at least part of the responsibility, go to the International Joint Commission to help ensure and enhance the water quality in the Rainy River basin and in Lake of the Woods, so we are very happy about that.
The International Joint Commission is probably the body that is best suited to govern Lake of the Woods water quality, but a reference is needed. This motion, should the government decide to act on it, will be a way to make that happen. There are many reasons that I will not go into, of course, to protect the environment and particularly the water environment, and many people in my riding have spent a lifetime protecting the water systems that eventually end up in the Arctic Ocean.
I would be remiss if I did not mention a sitting MPP, Howard Hampton, who has been instrumental in ensuring that the Rainy River basin remains a playground for tourists and probably some of the best fishing in this country. It is through efforts of people such as Howard Hampton and other grassroots organizations that this part of Canada has been made such a fabulous part.
Let me talk very briefly about a report that came out in June of last year. It was released by the International Joint Commission and it examined the links between human health and water-related issues in Lake of the Woods and the Rainy River basin. The report noted that Environment Canada had identified 15 ongoing threats related to source water and aquatic ecosystem health. That includes the following: nutrient loading, industrial waste water discharges, municipal waste water effluents, algal toxins and taste and odour problems, pesticides, agricultural and forestry land use impacts, natural sources of trace element contaminants, impacts of dams and diversions and climate change, as well as acidification.
So we know there are problems in this waterway, which by the way, in most parts of this waterway, as we are paddling our canoe we could dip our cup in and have a drink of water. Yet all these things are still present there.
Over the last couple of years especially, the groundwork has really been done by volunteers to talk about this, to bring it to the fore, and to have this motion brought forward.
I would like to thank my friend and neighbour to the north of me, in the Kenora riding, for bringing this motion forward. As we know, this motion is non-binding.
I would like to ask the government to ensure that it acts on this motion. It can do it quickly. I think it is a big step forward, not just for the people of my riding or the people in Kenora but for people all along the water system, all the way to Hudson Bay.