Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I guess we do have the baseline studies on the number of cancer patients in the Northwest Territories. It would be interesting to see if there has been a correlation of statistics put together of when did we start identifying the cancer going up or down, for which area, what kind of cancer, et cetera.

I do not think we have time to get the full answer from the department at this time, I would sure like to see a written copy provided to myself and if any other Members are interested, I am sure they would like to get copies also. I have been given a lot of concerns from my constituents and people in the Northwest Territories in general that the cancer rate is going up. My elders are starting to pass on at a more frequent pace. I think there is some validity to that and I want to know if there is any reason other than natural causes and respiratory diseases other than resulting from smoking. I think there might be some problems with the water. Let us find out for sure. If there are problems in Fort McPherson, there is the same system of water delivery in every community. There could be some major problems here that we do not know of.

I would like to get back to Cosmo 952. It is shocking to me that an unplanned and unknown Russian satellite dropping on the people of the Northwest Territories with particles landing on rooftops and covering hundreds of miles, happened in the Northwest Territories some 20 to 22 years ago and there was never a follow-up study on the possible effects of that. The department has never done any kind of a study. I am not familiar with a report that has ever been developed, if there was a report. Can the Minister tell me if there was report? If there was a report, does the GNWT have that report? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. First things first. Let us get back to the cancer rate. It is surprising that the Northwest Territories has a lower than Canadian average cancer rate. Where was this information obtained? When was it obtained? I assume there is a baseline of information resulting in the realization of the statistics. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you. Still dealing with contaminants, I would like to make a request of the department, since I am running out of time. There was a satellite that dropped on the Northwest Territories some 20 years ago or so, Cosmo 952, according to my learned colleague, Mr. Miltenberger. I am sure there have been studies.

I remember being a kid when that happened. I remember the U.S. Army being around Lutselk'e and they were in full dress, white outfits, masks and everything, and they were telling the community not to worry about anything. There is nothing wrong here. They were jumping out of planes and inviting people to jump out of planes to keep us distracted as they did their work. I am wondering if there has been any follow-up studies done on that event and the potential health problems that may be associated with it since then. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is good to know that there has been active work done in this area. I am just wondering if it is pan-northern, right from Newfoundland to Alaska, or even the circumpolar world. I am sure the eastern seaboard would have more contaminants than central Canada. The studies in the east may be a good indication of what we can expect in the central Arctic. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Is there a threshold of contaminants that is acceptable, which would be considered acceptable for human consumption? Specifically dealing with water, what is the table at? Is there a standard? If you go above that standard, is it no longer safe or it is no longer deemed safe? A question in the area of testing, are they using other mammals, fish, ducks, animals that use the water quite frequently? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is obvious that there is work being done. There is collaboration between the federal and territorial governments on this issue. I am wondering if there is a plan to initiate some kind of strategy that will address some of the problems that may occur in this area? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you. Has the department worked in collaboration with the federal authorities in this area, with the social envelope in the health area? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The other day, I am not sure if it was Saturday or Sunday, I was up late watching television, channel surfing, and ran across a presentation given by Mr. Robert Kennedy Junior on corporate pollutants and corporate law.

The interesting part was that the speaker, who was a water specialist, afterwards was thinking that there were a lot of airborne pollutants that were transferred to the northern regions, northern communities, and it may have a direct link to the health of the people in those regions. Those are not positive health effects, I imagine.

Can I suggest that the department look into that program, I believe it was Saturday night on CPAC, headed by Robert Kennedy Junior, and have a look at that discussion. I would also like to know, when was the last test done? From the Minister's answer, it sounds like the department has done several tests. What are the results?

Did it find more contaminants in the water progressively or is it decreasing? Where were the tests done? Primarily in the populated areas? It would be nice to have a full range from east to west, south to north. This is an area that I think the department should be very cognizant about and have information available for the concerned public.

I believe that concern is going to be on the rise. It is not going to be on the decline. As we know, the pollution in southern urban cities is getting higher and we are not going to escape that. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to ask the Minister if her department has ever done studies on PCB contaminants in our northern waters? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.