Madam Speaker, it is indeed an honour to rise to speak on behalf of the good people of Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola and to deliver on behalf of my caucus some of the sentiments we share on the motion before us.
First of all, let me thank the sponsor of the motion for his advocacy on all issues related to fresh water. I recently joined the environment committee and I look forward to discussing this as well as other areas of interest. When I was first named the Conservative critic for environment and climate change, I stated that I would like for us to focus on things we can agree on and not exclusively focus on areas of disagreement.
I believe all Canadians and therefore their parties want to see tangible results on the environment, whether it be increasing critical habitat or decreasing emissions while returning hope to people who are right now without work.
We all represent Canadians with all kinds of different backgrounds and experiences. I think that we are united in our appreciation for these sometimes personal stories about the lives of these people who influence our work as parliamentarians. These stories shine through and speak to our shared values, challenges and aspirations.
I would like to share a story with the House. When my great-grandfather José Albas came to Canada from Spain with his wife Amanda and his two young children, he was only supposed to be stopping by here on his way to Argentina to work. However, life happens, as they say, and after struggling for many years, they ended up raising mink on the shores of Lac La Biche, Alberta, where the family fished to support their farm.
This livelihood did not make them wealthy, but it provided a stable living, in stark contrast to their earlier attempts at farming in other regions. My grandfather Joseph worked on the farm and eventually took over when his father died from an infection after being bitten by one of his animals. The work was hard, but my grandfather was not afraid of hard work. He relished in it. That all changed one day.
I heard conflicting reports of overfishing and some sort of discharge, and in fact, the article “Two Fish, One Fish, No Fish: Alberta's Fish Crisis” traces the history of fishing on Lac La Biche. It says, on page 14, “To add indignity to the mortal injury of overfishing, by the 1950s the essential watershed integrity that supported the lake and its fish populations had been compromised.” This was written by author Lorne Fitch.
They eventually had to abandon their mink farm, which I believe is now part of a golf course. It ended a delicate balance in the 1950s for my family and for many others, but in my mind, this story demonstrates how important our water can be, how sensitive these ecosystems can be and how harmful this damage can be to the creatures that live in the water and those who depend on it for sustenance, including local first nations and surrounding families like my own.
The motion put forward by my colleague from Lac-Saint-Louis calls for an extremely in-depth and expansive study of all aspects of Canada's freshwater policy. It is clearly stated to be a precursor study to the government's promise to bring in a Canada water agency.
To start with, I dislike members of a committee using House motions to control what the committee does. Before my colleagues across the way start saying my party did so with a motion recently, that was only necessary because their party was filibustering in committees and trying to stop important work. Whenever possible, committees need to determine their own operations, timetables and schedules.
Since the member for Lac-Saint-Louis also sits on the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development, he already knows that study proposals from all parties deserve special attention, and his motion as written would prevent them from happening.
I hope that, in committee, all parties will have the opportunity to carry out a study of their choice. I also hope that these studies will be short enough so that everyone will have a chance.
It is not just that. It may be literally impossible to meet the 30-day deadline. Our committee is already conducting a study from the member for Repentigny. The minister will be appearing next week. The report of the commissioner of the environment and sustainable development looked at this, and the restrictions imposed by the House administration limit the number of meetings that we can hold.
With respect to the intent of the motion itself, I too have concerns about freshwater protection and management in our country. Our survival and the survival of our communities depend on sources of safe, clean water. In my riding there are many rivers and lakes, such as Okanagan Lake and Nicola Lake.
The members for Kelowna—Lake Country, North Okanagan—Shuswap and I have repeatedly advocated for protections for the lakes and rivers in our regions. I personally raised with the minister the ongoing threat of invasive aquatic species to our freshwater lakes, species such as zebra and quagga mussels that continue to threaten our natural environment and way of life. Sadly, the Okanagan does not receive anywhere near the supports to address these challenges as other regions, particularly the Great Lakes.
I wish to continue to push for solutions to these threats. In the event the study occurs, that will be an important aspect to consider.
Another area of serious concern that relates to this motion is the impact from flooding events. Due to climate change, once-rare flood events are now much more common. One only has to look at my riding and region to know this is the case, particularly in the Nicola and Okanagan valleys. Serious flood events have become an annual challenge for many in my area, and obviously throughout Canada. Therefore, studying flood impacts, mitigation policies and infrastructure that deserves attention would be an effective use of our time.
It has been said that water policy and water infrastructure is an area of tremendous importance that the public rarely sees. For municipal governments, it is always a top issue. The needs to build water and waste-water infrastructure are never ending, yet this kind of infrastructure is expensive and is not as obvious to the public so it is often overlooked.
There may be certain advantages in having a coordinating body and that is something worth studying as well. Also, being able to examine the continued policy of the Liberals to allow huge amounts of raw sewage to be dumped into our water sources is essential.
It is abhorrent that this continues to happen in Canada with the approval of the Liberal Minister of the Environment. The Conservatives have long been opposed to the dumping of sewage into our waters, and the motion would give us an opportunity to examine the government’s ability to address it.
However, I have serious concerns about the motion, particularly with the creation of a Canada Water Agency. The Constitution assigns much of the jurisdiction over freshwater resources to provincial governments.
Creating a national agency to oversee and regulate all freshwater policies in Canada would clearly violate provincial jurisdiction. For example, Quebec and my home province of British Columbia have extensive hydroelectric power systems. They are provincially regulated, but if the federal government decided that it now controls freshwater management, it could interfere with provincial authorities.
Ontario will lose its voice in the International Joint Commission, which manages the Great Lakes, as the federal government takes over, and Manitoba will lose its authority over flood management.
If this motion were to pass, I look forward to speaking to provincial representatives at committee who can share the good work they are doing and the lack of need for the federal government to completely take over, in addition to provincial jurisdiction, a Canada water agency would have serious implications for reconciliation with indigenous people.
These are the issues I very much look forward to study at committee if this motion passes muster by this House.
I am thankful for the opportunity to speak. Again, I thank the member opposite for his contribution and sponsoring this motion tonight.