Denis Paradis

[Petitions, September 20th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the subject of Lake Winnipeg came up during question period. I want to talk about Lake Champlain again. The lake needs government intervention because its water is green and smelly. No one would drink it. It is like pea soup.

I want to commend the mayors, especially the mayor of Venise-en-Québec, Jacques Landry, who chairs the Actions Lac Champlain committee.

On Saturday, a meeting will be held at Lake Champlain in the Saint-Armand sector, to discuss the state of the lake with our American friends. I want to take this opportunity to thank the hon. member for Saint-Jean for his support. He is monitoring this situation closely.

[Petitions, September 18th, 2017]

Madam Speaker, I have another petition here about Lake Champlain and its water quality signed by the people of Venise-en-Québec and Clarenceville.

We are going through a bit of a warm spell now—about time, considering the summer we had—and that has caused an algae bloom. Blue-green algae is proliferating, and it smells terrible. Lake Champlain is like pea soup. The people want the International Joint Commission's mandate redefined to include an examination of the blue-green algae problem in Lake Champlain.

This summer I met with staffers from the offices of Senator Leahy and Senator Bernie Sanders in Burlington, Vermont. We are going to have another meeting in my riding soon.

I am asking the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Environment and Climate Change to work with us on fixing Lake Champlain's blue-green algae problem.

[Canada Border Services Agency, June 8th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, in early 2015, the Canada Border Services Agency carried out a $16-million project to modernize the Morses Line border crossing in Saint-Armand in my riding.

The project was completed in late April 2015, and ever since then, one of my constituents, Nelly Auger, has been living out a real nightmare. That crossing was automated, which meant the construction of a new building that skirts her property, as well as the installation of LED lights that shine into her bedroom. No one would deny this is an invasion of her privacy.

In an email exchange between the CBSA and Nelly Auger, they agreed that a fence needed to be installed. The email is dated July 2015. This is 2017, and the matter is still not resolved. The cost of the fence is $2,611, although it was a $16-million project.

I want to know why this has not been resolved. Nelly Auger is also asking to be compensated for her home's loss in value.

[Petitions, June 7th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, Lake Champlain and Missisquoi Bay are part of my riding, Brome—Missisquoi.

Missisquoi Bay is a Canadian body of water that is extremely polluted right now. As I told Senator Bernie Sanders' and Senator Patrick Leahy's teams during a recent visit to Burlington, Vermont, we need to join forces to make the waters of Lake Champlain as clear as they once were.

The petitioners are asking the Minister of Foreign Affairs to issue a mandate letter to the International Joint Commission, which was created under the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 to manage our boundary waters, calling on it to address the issue of the water quality of Lake Champlain.

[Petitions, June 6th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, in the spirit of Environment Week, I rise to present another petition regarding Lake Champlain.

Lake Champlain supplies the entire population of Bedford, in my riding, with drinking water that is supposed to be potable. However, Lake Champlain has a cyanobacteria problem. When it gets hot in the summer, the water is like pea soup. It is terrible, and people are forced to boil their water. We have had a treaty with the United States on boundary waters since 1906.

Budget 2016, which passed here in the House, invested $7.5 million in Lake Champlain and the Richelieu River. People from my region, specifically in Bedford, are calling on the Minister of Foreign Affairs to issue a mandate letter to the International Joint Commission to ensure that a portion of the $7.5 million allocated for flood relief is also used to address Lake Champlain's water quality.

[Petitions, June 5th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, since today is World Environment Day, I would like to point out that, after spending a few years here, I came back because of two lakes; Lake Champlain and Lake Memphremagog. People have raised the alarm about these two lakes, especially Lake Champlain.

In the summer heat, the water turns as green as pea soup because of cyanobacteria, and it is awful. This lake is part of the Canada-United States boundary waters.

People in my riding want the Minister of Foreign Affairs to take action right away and order the International Joint Commission, which is responsible for boundary waters, to allocate part of next year's budget to fix the problems with Lake Champlain.

[Petitions, June 1st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present another petition addressed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs concerning the water quality of Lake Champlain.

Cyanobacteria proliferates each summer in Lake Champlain, which we share with our American neighbours. The entire population of the town of Bedford in my riding, so over 3,000 people, drinks that water.

When it gets hot this summer, the cyanobacteria will proliferate even more, and the water will become like pea soup. This water needs to be treated immediately. This petition is therefore addressed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who is responsible for the International Joint Commission on the management of transboundary waters under the treaty we have with our American neighbours.

In conclusion, the petitioners, residents of Bedford and the surrounding area in the province of Quebec, ask the Minister of Foreign Affairs to review the mandate of the International Joint Commission for Champlain Lake, with the aim of resolving the problem of the deterioration of the water quality of Champlain Lake in recent years.

I also want to thank the member for Malpeque, who is supporting our efforts.

[Petitions, May 31st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present another petition regarding Lake Champlain, which is in my riding, Brome—Missisquoi. All matters relating to the water quality of Lake Champlain, which we share with our American neighbours, are governed by the International Boundary Waters Treaty Act and the International Joint Commission.

In 2008, the International Joint Commission looked into the water quality problems in Lake Champlain and Missisquoi Bay. Since 2008, the International Joint Commission has not pursued the matter. It is of the utmost importance to protect Lake Champlain for present and future generations.

The conclusion is that the residents of the Lake Champlain region are asking the Minister of Foreign Affairs to review the mandate of the International Joint Commission so that it can resolve the water quality issue in Lake Champlain.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank the member for Saint-Jean for supporting this petition.

[Petitions, May 29th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I am presenting another petition about Lake Champlain signed by people in my riding, from the Saint-Armand and Bedford regions. Cyanobacteria tend to proliferate in hot summer weather.

The International Joint Commission, which is the result of a Canada-U.S. agreement and dates back to 1909, provides for co-operation between Canada and the United States. In the 2016 budget, the government allocated $7.5 million to the commission, but the mandate letter indicates that this money is to be used for flood relief.

The petitioners are calling on the government to allow the $7.5 million that was allocated for flood relief to also be used to study Lake Champlain's water quality. We think that the mandate letter should be revised to make water quality part of the International Joint Commission's mandate. I also want to thank the member for Saint-Jean for his support.

[Petitions, May 18th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, here is another petition about water quality in Lake Champlain. Ten percent of Lake Champlain is located within Canada and 90% within the United States, and it is full of blue-green algae. When it gets hot in the summer, the water is like pea soup. That is unacceptable.

I congratulate the mayors of Clarenceville, Saint-Armand, Bedford, and Venise-en-Québec for getting involved in their communities, and I thank them for forwarding their citizens' wishes regarding Lake Champlain's water quality to us.

This petition is addressed to the minister responsible for Global Affairs Canada.