Mr. Speaker, today I rise to share the sense of frustration and abandonment that many face in our region of northern Manitoba, frustration that the federal government is nowhere to be found in these tough times.
Churchill and the Bay Line communities are devastated. The American billionaire that owns the rail line and the port has left people completely stranded. Fishers in Norway House, Wabowden, and Fisher River, as well as many others, are fighting the dismantling of the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation. Workers and families in Thompson and Flin Flon are worried as they receive news of major job losses, including the loss of value-added processing jobs. First nations are not seeing the commitment to increased funding for education, housing, and child welfare or to treaty land entitlement.
Northern Manitoba has given a great deal to Canada. It is time for the federal government to step up, to nationalize the port and rail line, to protect FFMC, to stand up for good jobs, and to live up to its commitment to first nations. We demand that the Prime Minister act. It is time to stand up for our north and our Canada.