Environment committee  In the Ottawa River watershed there are conservation authorities. They are present on the Ontario side, but they are not consistent across that side, because it is up to the municipalities to decide whether they're going to fund conservation authorities or not. In the northern part of the watershed where we have a large agricultural belt around Lake Timiskaming there is no conversation authority, so there is no drought forecasting done in that region.

Environment committee  Rolphton is a reactor that is just upstream from Chalk River, and the proposal is to keep it in situ. There are a lot of concerns around that process and how effective that is. I would also double-check whether the materials from that site would make it to Chalk River, because we have been assured that no more additional waste would come to Chalk River.

Environment committee  Thank you so much for your question. I would also like to thank you for recognizing the Algonquin Anishinabe communities on our land. The Ottawa River watershed covers nearly all Algonquin territory. The voices of the Algonquin people are very important. They say they were not adequately consulted.

Environment committee  For some of the rules and some of the regulations, it's there. However, that's not used as it should.

Environment committee  Certainly. It's a pretty complicated subject, so I'll do my best to answer in French, but I may have to switch to English, if that's easier for me. Most of Chalk River's current waste is real estate, in other words, buildings that need to be rebuilt. A lot of the structures there will have to be rebuilt.

Environment committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. Thank you for embarking on a comprehensive study of the role of the federal government in protecting and managing Canada's freshwater resources. In your collective role as the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development, you have an opportunity to weigh the various responsibilities for freshwater protection and management throughout Canada.