(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have to protect the northern environment, specifically, we have to protect the environment surrounding our communities, from all pollutants. PanArctic Oil commenced oil exploration by drilling in the 1960s on the islands of the high Arctic, and are now in the last year of operation. Last year they were given a permit from the federal government to get rid of their metal waste and dump it into the sea. Because they have been given a permit to allow them to do this, they are now asking to do additional dumping this year. This year PanArctic plans to dump 400 tons of metal waste into the sea. Four hundred tons is about the size of Grise Fiord. The waste the company is planning to dump will not make much difference right now, but as Inuit people know, this will affect the wildlife we have depended on for years and will continue to depend on for years to come.
People living in the high Arctic are very concerned about the dumping of metal waste in the sea by PanArctic, and do not want any more of this, because they know that salt water is so strong it will eventually erode metal and waste contaminants. Waters of the high Arctic are not a dumping ground. PanArctic Oil was not worried about the cost to freight their equipment when they went to the high Arctic, but now that they have completed their explorations they are worried that it will be too expensive to bring their metal waste back down south. This is not acceptable to us. In 1953 when the federal government relocated the Inuit from northern Quebec to Resolute Bay and Grise Fiord they were not told they were being relocated to a dumping ground.