Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier this summer I had travelled by boat to several sites in Frobisher Bay and then onto Resolution Island. Resolution Island is the site of an abandoned DEW Line site. It was abandoned around 1974 and, Mr. Speaker, was left in a very disturbing manner with PCBs and, yes, even an abandoned army jeep. My estimates put the cleanup at about $40 million. Over the past two summers, the Qikiqtaaluk Corporation has been involved in preliminary work assessing the potential areas of concern and have several people at the site all this summer. All buildings, warehouses, barrows, woods, metal and various other left over equipment are still very obvious at the site. There is major concern with the amount of PCBs that have been detected in the soil and surrounding the buildings. This summer via sealift, the Qikiqtaaluk Corporation brought in heavy equipment necessary to facilitate their appraisal and the cleanup.
Mr. Speaker, last year I raised the issue of the DEW Line cleanups and the deal that was signed between the federal government and the United States' government providing $100 million for the DEW Line and other United States' military cleanups in Canada. The problem, Mr. Speaker, is that from all estimates, $100 million is a shamefully small amount with a caveat. Mr. Speaker, the caveat, as I have said in this House before, is that the $100 million is not an actual cash but an amount that will be used to draw down as a credit by our government in the purchase of military equipment.
Mr. Speaker, this past spring when I questioned this government about the deal, we learned that although we have the majority of the sites involved with the cleanup, we were never informed about it until it was announced in the media. That was not acceptable. Resolution Island is well known as a major denning site for polar bears. There is much concern about the concentration of PCBs and other chemicals at the site and its effect for the past 25 years on wildlife in the area. The concern last year, Mr. Speaker, that I had with the disposal of PCB lead in paint being buried in the north from the abandoned DEW Line buildings and exemption sought by the Department of National Defence to the federal department of the Environment is still a major concern.
Later today, Mr. Speaker, I will be raising some questions with the honourable Minister for Resources, Wildlife, and Economic Development to ask him about the situation. Also Mr. Speaker, the storm affecting Cape Dorset and Lake Harbour is also affecting Iqaluit. I would like to wish all the residents, my wife, children and mother well. Our thoughts are with you. God bless.