Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On August the 26, around 5:00 p.m., a very serious incident occurred on the Mackenzie River. About a half mile downstream from Fort Providence a barge being towed by the N.T.C.L. vessel M.V. Jack MacNiven was observed by local residents as damaged and leaking oil.
Mr. Speaker, this could have been a serious environmental mishap. The barge was carrying a total of 830,000 litres of light fuel, diesel. At 11:00 a.m., on the morning of August 27, I chartered an aircraft and flew over the accident site. I was very concerned by what I saw. A crudely constructed containment boom had been placed around the damaged barge but was clearly ineffective in holding back the oil against the swift river currents. From my vantage point it was clear that the oil was dispersing quickly.
I observed evidence of the spill extending down several sub-branches of the Mackenzie as far as Millis Lake. The total dispersal of the oil seemed to me to cover an area approximately forty miles long. I have maps of the affected area and will make them available for honourable Members and interested members of the public to look at.
I was particularly concerned to see concentrations of oil in shallow and weedy sections of Millis Lake. Mr. Speaker, this was not only my concern. During the time I was in the air I saw no signs of any action from the federal agencies who have responsibility for the management of this sort of environmental problem. I understand that the accident was reported to the Government of the Northwest Territories spill line and promptly passed along to the Canadian Coastguard and the Federal Fisheries and Oceans personnel. However, it is my opinion that these federal agencies, from the beginning, took an approach that was less than serious.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans was not on the scene until mid-afternoon of the following day and I am not sure how extensive their water sampling procedures were. I even understood that the Department's spill specialist was in Tuktoyaktuk. Again, as I surveyed the situation from the air, I observed no coastguard supervision of the site, even though the containment boom was clearly failing to retain the oil spill. I must say, Mr. Speaker.