Dan Albas, MP in the Kelowna Daily Courier – August 22, 2018
I have often said that the wheels of Ottawa tend to turn quite slowly.
One of the issues I worked on in the last Parliament was the need to establish a regulatory framework in Canada related to invasive species legislation.
This was and remains a serious concern locally given the growing threat of invasive freshwater mussels to our region.
After considerable delay and much prodding we were able to have the new regulations in place for the 2015 boating season, however that was only the first of many steps required to protect the Okanagan and other freshwater lakes in British Columbia and Western Canada.
The concern now is funding.
Recently, when the prime minister visited the Okanagan, he and members of his caucus have been touting “$500,000 in research, education and outreach to help prevent invasive mussels from reaching local waterways”.