Speaker, our government remains committed to working with Indigenous communities and will continue working with Indigenous communities towards remediation of the mercury contamination in the English and the Wabigoon Rivers.

The member knows that several studies have been funded to the tune of $85 million for the English and Wabigoon Rivers Remediation Trust, including the recent one by Dr. Branfireun. Those studies are to understand the mercury contamination, where it’s moving through the river system and the food web.

Ministry technical experts will be reviewing the report’s findings as part of the work on the panel and their technical subcommittee. They plan to meet with the doctor and Indigenous community tomorrow.

Speaker, our government takes this issue very seriously. The panel is also funding a project team made up of recognized mercury remediation experts. We will leave it to the experts to ensure that swift and remediation action is taking place. Speaker, we remain committed to updating the Indigenous community and stakeholders, including the public, towards the progress of remediation of mercury contamination sediments.