Senator Carignan: Leader, let me clarify something. It’s not just water leaking; it’s also leachate. Do you know the difference between the two? I would not drink a glass of it, that’s for sure. The government has failed to take any action on this environmental disaster for three years now. The Prime Minister’s Office was apparently informed, 225 government officials were informed. La Presse ran a headline this morning that reads, “Radio silence in Ottawa.” Based on what you’re saying, your government is still talking rather than taking action. How can I reassure the people of my region so they don’t feel abandoned by this government?

Hon. Claude Carignan: Leader, yesterday, I asked you some questions about the dumping of toxic substances into Lake of Two Mountains, which supplies water to hundreds of thousands of people. You said, among other things, and I quote, “. . . the government is not dragging its feet. The government recognizes that this is a very serious situation.” One of the La Presse articles I quoted also states the following:

The discharges that La Presse observed on two occasions this spring are not one-time events. On August 1, 2020, a breach at the same location, in the middle of the hot summer, released thousands of litres of putrid water that was “black as tar” into the same streams, all the way to Lake of Two Mountains.

In Ottawa, this triggered a notification from the National Environmental Emergencies Centre. An email exchange obtained through an access to information request indicates that some 225 Environment Canada officials were notified of the event. A federal inspector’s handwritten notes state that this matter must be brought “to the attention of the Office of the PM,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Leader, I have this note with me. The question is simple. Was the PMO notified following these alarming discharges at Kanesatake? If yes, what measures did the PMO order? If no, why not?