Madam Speaker, this will be my fifth Christmas as a parliamentarian.
For five years, I have been hoping that the government, either Conservative or Liberal, would give an extraordinary Christmas present to the people of Mauricie by finally dealing with the problem of pyrrhotite once and for all.
There are two aspects to this important issue. The first, of course, is financial support for the victims. This part has already been resolved and we know the government's response, in that it has offered $10 million a year, over three years, for the pyrrhotite victims. Although this is well below what is needed, we welcome these amounts.
The other problem, which is just as important as the first, is the review of the quality standard for aggregates used in concrete, and I will explain to the House why this is important.
On the one hand, it is important because many victims still do not know whether they will receive compensation, given that the provincial claims program uses a standard that is not scientifically proven and compliant with a certain consensus reached at the first trial.
The judge in this case also asked that the quality standard for aggregates used in concrete be reviewed to ensure that it is based on clear scientific evidence. I would like to add that this is the only way that the Government of Canada can ensure that the problem facing the Mauricie, as well as an increasing number of other regions in Canada, does not continue to grow and does not extend beyond the current victims.
We must also keep in mind that policies and standards are generally reviewed every five years. The standard on aggregates in concrete was therefore reviewed in 2015, which would be funny if it were not so shameful.
The 2015 review of this standard did very little. Since no scientific study was conducted to arrive at a specific number, as was done for the European standard, for example, the standard merely indicates that the stone aggregate used to mix concrete should not contain more than 0.1 pyrrhotite. However, “should not” does not set out an obligation.
Every time I asked this question, to either the Liberal government or the previous Conservative government, I was always told that this was a provincial problem because the building code falls under provincial jurisdiction.
I would like to remind members that the Quebec building code is made up of federally established standards. There is a whole series of standards that must be followed. Reviewing the federal standard for aggregates used in concrete would help ensure that all of the other resulting standards are followed.
My question is simple. Does the Liberal government intend to do something about the quality standard for aggregates used in concrete?