Madam Speaker, on November 4, I asked the Minister of the Environment why the government seemed to be shutting off funding for the Lake Superior binational program and I received a dismissive answer.
The minister's answer called into question the information I had received from Lake Superior Binational Forum members, while leaving some faint hope that the funding would appear at the 11th hour.
We have since learned that funding has indeed dried up for Binational Forum, which is an important component of the binational program, a program designed to restore the graded areas and protect Lake Superior as a unique headwater from pollution and urbanization.
For those who are not familiar with this body, the Binational Forum is as grassroots as it gets. It brings the stakeholder communities from Lake Superior together to ensure the work done by the binational program, and ultimately the International Joint Commission, reflects the experiences, needs, abilities and opinions of basin communities.
It has been served by volunteers, many of whom have served for the full 20 years the forum has been in existence. Indeed, my colleague, the member for Thunder Bay—Superior North, who is with me today, was the co-founder and first Canadian co-chair of the forum.
The work of the forum has been lauded by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the International Joint Commission and even in Environment Canada's 2011 report on the lakewide management plan.
The decision to cut funding has destroyed the ability of the forum to function. If Canadian participants want to continue attending the meetings, they will have to pay out of their own pockets. With no Canadian participation, the vehicle designed to support the binational program cannot perform its function.
What dismays many members, who were part of the original proposal, is that they, along with many others, have contributed thousands of hours of personal time and the government has not seen fit, or even find it necessary, to consult, notify or even thank them. There was no communication at all, just silence and ultimately a letter confirming the disappearance of the Canadian funding, which was in response to Mr. Glen Dale's email.
Why has the government unilaterally walked away from long-standing funding for the coordination of the Canadian component of the Lake Superior Binational Forum? Has the government informed other parties, including the United States Environmental Protection Agency of this decision? Where is the government's sense of decency and consideration and commitment to protecting Lake Superior? Why have we reached the point that long-time volunteers are lauded one year and cut loose the next, without even being made aware of the decision until well after the fact?
It is interesting, because we certainly have to look at what the project was actually meant for, why the forum was put in place. It is a demonstration project for zero discharge of persistent toxic substances and sustainable ecosystem management and has played a crucial role.
Mr. Dale received a letter from the minister, which says:
Having completed this review process, I regret to inform you that my department is unable to provide funding for the coordination of the Canadian component of the Lake Superior Binational Forum this year.
What impact will that have on the Canadian component? That is what I want to know. I hope the parliamentary secretary will be able to answer the questions I have just asked.