BRANDON — Conservative MP Dan Mazier says Parks Canada needs to be held accountable for the failed curtain at Clear Lake, and is pointing fingers at Steven Guilbeault, the federal environment minister, for the wrongdoing.
“It’s very frustrating to see that taxpayers are footing the bill for his (Guilbeault’s) mismanagement,” said Mazier, MP for Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa.
On Sept. 15, Mazier submitted an access to information request to the federal government asking how much money had been spent on the containment curtain and what the plan is for the future.
Mazier said many people in the Clear Lake community were concerned about Parks Canada’s response to addressing zebra mussels and were “wondering how this could’ve happened.”
“There was a lot of frustration from local residents when it was revealed the containment curtain failed so quickly, directly contrasting the confidence of Parks Canada,” Mazier said in an email to the Brandon Sun.
The curtain, which was installed in Clear Lake on Aug. 6, was put in place to contain the possible spread of zebra mussels after the invasive species was found in Boat Cove last November, and again this July.
Two days after the curtain was installed, heavy winds and waves caused it to drift toward the shore in several locations.
The curtain was removed in early September after Parks Canada announced it was damaged and no longer an effective means of containment, adding it could not be repaired or replaced.
Mazier had almost a dozen questions for Parks Canada, including how much of the contract has been spent.
The contract was awarded to ASI Group Canada with a value of $810,886.16 (taxes included), and the cost incurred to date is $154,900.52, according to the document with the government’s response.
But because of issues with the installation and failure of the curtain, the total cost is still being finalized with the contractor, added the document.
When Mazier questioned the government about the date that the damage was discovered, the document stated that Parks Canada staff saw the damage Aug. 8, and four days later, on Aug. 12, it was confirmed by ASI Group.
So far, it’s not known who will be financially responsible for the damage to the curtain and if it will be divided. Parks Canada stated that “discussions to find solutions and negotiations with the contractor are ongoing.”
Parks Canada added that more discussions need to take place with ASI Group, and it needs to “fully analyze options” before being able to answer Mazier’s question if the containment curtain will be re-installed in Clear Lake in 2025.
In August, a live mussel and a partial shell were discovered in Boat Cove, and water samples taken from the area have tested positive for zebra mussel environmental DNA.
In September, Parks Canada announced in a press release that for the rest of the 2024 open water season, it would continue monitoring for environmental DNA, veligers (zebra mussel larvae) and evidence of the mussels.
The monitoring will continue until ice forms and will help determine whether Parks Canada makes plans to use potash in the lake to destroy the mussels. Potash is a molluscicide approved for use by Health Canada.
A clump of 48 live zebra mussels were found in Boat Cove in November 2023 — the first discovery of its kind in the national park.
— Brandon Sun