Welcome to Brian Masse

MASSE: CANADA’S GREAT LAKES POLICY DAMAGING CANADA/US RELATIONS

Takes the Government to Task for Avoiding Accountability on the Great Lakes and an insufficient environmental record

 

OTTAWA – Brian Masse MP (Windsor West) – NDP Critic for the Great Lakes took the Liberal Government to task highlighting the negative impacts of Liberal policies impacting the Great Lakes in a statement delivered in the House of Commons.

Primarily Masse expressed concerns that the Trudeau Government’s on-going consideration of a proposal to bury nuclear waste just over a kilometer away from the Great Lakes in a Deep Geological Repository (DGR) is troubling to many US legislators he has met with recently.

Masse elaborated: “As a member of the Canada/US inter-Parliamentary Group and the NDP Federal Caucus Critic for the Canada-US border I interact regularly with US legislators.  The DGR issue continues comes up unprompted in my exchanges with my counterparts in the United States.  The Government should scrap this risky proposal and re-start the process to consider options that do not put the most important supply of fresh water in the world in harm’s way.”

The Liberal Government will be rendering a decision on the DGR recommendation over the summer. Masse isn’t surprised this decision would be scheduled while Parliament is not in session: “It’s sadly not surprising to me that the Government has set up their decision making process on this critical question in such a way so as to avoid accountability. Parliament will not be sitting and many Canadians will be involved in their summertime activities. Avoiding accountability is becoming an increasingly predictable tactic from this government, that’s why it’s important to continue to press them to reject the DGR in the here and now.” Masse added.

 

 

Here is the unofficial transcript of Masse’s statement:

 

Mr. Speaker,

I rise today to thank US Legislators who recently saved the Great Lakes from catastrophic budget cuts proposed by the Trump Administration.

This bipartisan effort restored over $300 Million dollars in critical funding for the Great Lakes.

Unfortunately, the Liberal government is falling short of matching US investments and continues to consider the storing of radioactive nuclear waste on the shores of the Great Lakes.

US legislators like Senators Debbie Stabenow, Gary Peters and Sherrod Brown or Congressmen Dan Kildee or John Mitchell are but some of the leaders in the US vehemently expressing opposition to the plan.

Not only is it environmentally reckless but it’s an increasingly significant diplomatic irritant with Canada developing a reputation as a “free-rider” on US Great Lakes protection initiatives and investments.

Storing nuclear waste next to the Great Lakes should be scrapped.  Millions of people, municipalities, states, businesses, environmental organizations have all lined up in opposition. All we need now is the Liberal Prime Minister and his Cabinet to do the same.


Call Us
613-996-1541
Location
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
 K1A 0A6

© 2024 Brian Masse. All rights reserved

Template By: WPRise.co