Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition on behalf of residents of my riding in York Region regarding PFAS, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. They are considered forever chemicals. They are extremely persistent and mobile in the environment, and they last many thousands of years. They have been proven to be a health problem in many different ways.
Petitioners are calling on the government to adopt a class-based approach to address all PFAS, listing them in schedule I of CEPA for complete prohibition; to consider exemptions for prohibition only if time limited and fully substantiated; to adopt stringent drinking-water standards for PFAS as a class; and to require research to identify contaminated sites, expedite the remediation and provide public release of research data. They are also asking for further research into PFAS.
I am presenting this on behalf of the petitioners, who are very concerned about the impacts of PFAS on the health and well-being of Canadians.