Mr. Speaker, on October 19 last year, I raised concerns with the Minister of Environment that Aamjiwnaang First Nation members living adjacent to the Sarnia industrial complex have suffered high incidences of cancer, rashes, and respiratory diseases, yet there has been minimal enforcement action by Conservative or Liberal governments on repeated spills and pollution incidents.
This first nation's call for a health impact study has long been ignored as has been the case for other first nations. Federal authorities have failed to act despite clear power and the duty to act, and despite constant flaring of acid gas and repeated spikes in sulphur dioxide releases.
The Minister of Environment responded that while the situation in Sarnia is very worrying she is encouraged by the steps taken by the Ontario government. She agreed on the need for strong regulations to ensure clean air and health protection, and shared that her government looks forward to strengthening CEPA. We are still waiting for those reforms.
The powers needed to address the concerns at Sarnia exist now. Quite simply there is a lack of political will to act. The environment minister is empowered to list and regulate toxins and has a mandatory duty to monitor environmental quality and to develop and deliver that system in consultation with aboriginal peoples. Many of the toxins emitted by Sarnia industries are federally regulated as toxins.
For decades, federal governments have consulted on strengthened standards for toxins with no action. They know Canadian emissions standards remain far weaker than those of other jurisdictions. The federal Minister of Health has a mandatory duty to investigate when information comes to her attention that toxins may be impacting health.
What is the government's excuse for failing to act to protect this suffering community?
The Prime Minister continues to espouse that there is no greater priority for him than delivering a nation-to-nation relationship and respecting the rights and interests of indigenous peoples, yet he sits by, forcing the first nation to seek intervention of the courts on information that should be readily available to the community, the cumulative impacts of all of the industrial emitters in Sarnia.
Why are they seeking this information? Studies finding abnormally low male birth rates in their community have suggested potential connections to their proximity to industrial emissions. The community members also report high rates of asthma and miscarriages, yet to date there has been no comprehensive study to assess the health effects of the emissions on this community.
Frankly, neither has there been a health study in response to calls by the indigenous communities of northern Alberta, a call that has been ignored by successive federal governments for decades despite the government's duty to act. There seems to be a common theme running through the responses by the environment minister, that regulating industrial emissions and environmental and health impacts of industry is a provincial responsibility. That view is not supported by either federal law or rulings of the courts.
Will the government finally step up and respond to the pleas of this indigenous community to address its concerns about the impacts of industrial emissions on its members' health?