Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My question is in the area of water quality with regards to concerns I raised earlier today in the House, and also with the notice of a boil water order in communities which your department is responsible for, knowing that there is a question of not only process, but a liability question. I touched on the THM problem in Fort McPherson. I know certain efforts were made to improve the water quality in Fort McPherson, but we still have other communities. I've raised the issue with regard to Tsiigehtchic where there's supposed to be an improvement to the water treatment process there. There are still concerns with the colour of the water, and also the smell of the water. Also in the community of Aklavik where there was a percentage in the water system called H. pylori, in which doctors were prescribing antibiotics for residents of Aklavik to take because of the virus which you get from the intake of water.
So I'd like to ask the Minister or the Department of Public Works who is responsible for the testing, sampling and looking at the whole water quality aspect of water treatment facilities in our communities -- especially in my communities where your department does provide that service in Aklavik, Tsiigehtchic, Fort McPherson and also Rae-Edzo -- exactly what is your department doing in consideration of the water quality question; not just looking at the quality of water, but the side effects that we're seeing in our water by way of studies that I mentioned with regards to research and with regards to different scientific findings of THMs, the effect that it has on cancers and also miscarriages in women, and also with the problem in Aklavik where we're seeing large numbers of cancer cases in our communities?
I always hear from my constituents, asking if there is a correlation between the increase in cancer in our communities and the water quality and how the water has been treated in the past with chlorine or other types of chemicals. I'd like to ask the department if you document all the types of chemicals or additives that you add to the water system to process the water during certain times of the year, where you have large increases or spikes indicating increased mercury or increased metals in the water or, in the case of THMs if there are certain things you have to do to treat the water? Is all that information documented so that, if at any time in the future we have a major lawsuit on our hands, we, as a government, will know who the fingers will be pointed at and who will be held liable with regards to the court cases we're seeing in southern Canada?