Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Kildonan—St. Paul for bringing forward this motion for an emergency debate tonight. I would also like to thank the member for Selkirk—Interlake for his continued interest in pressing the government on this very important issue.
The fact that we are here tonight is as a result of Devils Lake growing in surface area due to an increase in water flow to its water basin. I really feel for the people around Devils Lake because their homes are being flooded. In Manitoba we share a certain sensitivity to that predicament. However, it is also clear that there needs to be a solution found that can protect the environment in North Dakota and also in Manitoba.
We have heard a lot about Lake Winnipeg and the Red River, but the fact is that this affects my constituency in Manitoba as the Assiniboine River which is a tributary to the Red River is in my riding. It affects other rivers in Manitoba, the Canadian Heritage River, the Bloodvein River which is a well-known canoeing river, the Hayes River, the Echimamish River, the Nelson River and the Saskatchewan River system. It affects not just Manitoba but also Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta. It may even cross over into other watersheds all the way over to Quebec.
That brings me to the next point. It is interesting to see all the different stakeholders that support this issue going to the IJC. Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Missouri all support this going to the International Joint Commission.
I know it is not appropriate to comment on who is in the House, but maybe I will because there is no one on the government side of the House to raise the point of order. On such an important issue as this, it is too bad there is not more interest from the people who are actually involved in having an impact on international relations with the United States. They are the people in government.
This seems to be a consistent theme with the government. It drops the ball on issue after issue. We saw this in 2002 when the government had the opportunity to have the IJC look at this issue. It could have dealt with it at that time, but instead the government decided to delay and postpone and now we are in a crisis situation. We have two weeks before the valves will be opened and our Canadian water system could be contaminated with the pathogens and other aquatic life due to government neglect.
We see this in other issues, in dealing with health care, in dealing with our military, in dealing with the sponsorship scandal and corruption. The government just delays and delays and does not do anything until there is a crisis. I think most members from all the opposition parties would agree that the government does not take action fast enough. Actually it creates many of the problems in which we find ourselves.
I would like to quote from the Bournday Waters Treaty of 1909. It provides equal protection for the U.S. and Canada and I would like to quote it. It says:
-- waters flowing across the boundary shall not be polluted on either side to the injury of health or property on the other.
That is in article IV of the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909. Clearly the Devils Lake project would do that. It have would be helpful, when this became obvious that it would become an issue, if baseline studies would have been undertaken. They were not.
We need to ensure that the government pushes for these things, not just now but also in the future. We need to learn from what has occurred here due to the government dithering. We need to ensure that we do not allow this type of thing to happen again. That also leads into the precedent which other members from the other opposition parties have raised. I think it is a very valid concern.
This time we are dealing with Devils but next time we might be dealing with the Columbia River, the Great Lakes or some other issue. It is a slippery slope. If we do not have this treaty enforced, if we let it slide by, who knows where it will lead us. It is disturbing how the government has allowed our sovereignty to slip away in this respect.
What do we do? It is unfortunate that some Liberal members have antagonized the Americans. I am thinking in particular of one of the Winnipeg Liberal MPs. However, let us look beyond that. I believe it is very important that this issue is raised with the IJC and that there is a delay in the opening of the valves is undertaken.
I have a geological engineering degree and I have looked at issues of the hydrology. As the surface area of Devils Lake increases, it takes more water per centimetre of increase in lake level for the lake to go up. That may mean the lake will not rise at the rate it has in the past and therefore allow more time to bring the issue forward to the IJC. On the suggestion that it could take eight and a half years, let us apply the common sense test and say that we will expedite it.
It is in the interest of the Americans and it is certainly in the interest of Canada to do that and move forward on a good faith basis and within the framework of the Boundary Waters Treaty. That would serve the people well.
I commend the province of Manitoba. The provincial government stepped in when the federal government failed to do so. It is again disappointing that the federal government, which has the constitutional obligation to ensure our relations with other sovereign states are protected, has failed to do that and the provincial government came in to fill the void. Again, that shows the lack of leadership of the Liberal government when it comes to Canada-U.S. relations and Canada's role in the world.
I hope, for the sake of the environment and our water supply in the go forward basis, that the Devils Lake issue is resolved in a manner which will protect our water supply. We can also show empathy to our friends in North Dakota that we understand the flooding issue is indeed a problem and there are other ways to skin a cat.
I encourage that this goes forward to the Boundary Waters Treaty framework and that the government does everything possible to ensure that occurs.
It is unfortunate, again, that the government missed the opportunity many years ago, but let us go on, on a go forward basis. I am sure the opposition parties would agree.
