Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the parliamentary secretary for his words of assurance.
I appreciate the funding for drinking water. However, my point is that this very important issue is falling through the cracks.
I have to say that the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities has been trying to help here. I invited the mayor of Oliver to come to Ottawa to meet him. We met and had a very substantive meeting. Chief Clarence Louie of the Osoyoos band was on the phone. Top policy and program staff were present and they promised to look for plans A, B, C, D. I followed up with them recently and they have been unsuccessful at finding funding for this project. Therefore, I have been gradually learning about bureaucracy in this job and about silos full of money that can only be accessed if one's project checks all the right boxes to open the magic door.
Here we have a disastrous situation waiting to happen with a common-sense fix waiting to be implemented. Surely, we can find a way to fund this project without putting the people of Oliver in debt for years to come, with funding that would secure and promote the growth of a vibrant—