December 21, 1988 (34th Parliament, 1st Session)

Mr. Mac Harb (Ottawa Centre):

Mr. Speaker, right now, in almost every municipality in eastern Ontario and across Canada, city officials are being faced with rapidly deteriorating municipal infrastructures. The capital costs involved for adequate rehabilitation are well beyond the capacity of any local government.
Sewage treatment plants need millions of dollars to upgrade them to an acceptable capacity level. In eastern Ontario alone, 38 plants fail to meet provincial standards, often resulting in raw sewage being discharged directly into our rivers. This type of pollution is an environmental crime and it has to stop.
The federal Government must co-operate with the provincial and municipal Governments and pay its share of these costs. I urge the House to act swiftly on this matter.