Mr. Speaker, I have been tasked once again with presenting petitions from the residents of Timmins, Ontario and Kirkland, Quebec on the topic of the Experimental Lakes Area, now well over 25,000 petitioners.
In the 2012 budget, the government made the ill-advised decision to close the ELA, one of the world's leading freshwater research stations, depriving Canadians of the groundbreaking scientific advancements that it provided. These petitioners call on parliamentarians to reverse the decision to close the ELA as well as to continue to provide staff and financial support for this important Canadian institution.