| Ontario
Hansard - 22-June-2006
WATER
QUALITY
Ms. Laurie Scott (Haliburton-Victoria-Brock):
My question is to the Minister of the Environment. The Ontario Sewer
and Watermain Construction Association is concerned with your slow
pace of addressing the recommendations in the expert water panel
report.
Minister, it has been four years since the passage of Bill 175,
and we are almost at the one-year anniversary of the Watertight
report. The fact remains that there is a gaping hole in your clean
water agenda. You're not addressing the state of the pipes that
bring clean water in and that take the dirty water away from our
homes.
The previous Conservative government had already laid the foundation
for you. All that is required is for your government to release
the regulations that would bring into force the Sustainable Water
and Sewage Systems Act. My question is, will you finally release
these regulations today?
Hon. Laurel C. Broten (Minister of the Environment):
I'm very pleased to have a chance to remind my friend opposite what
our government has done to turn this province away from the legacy
of Walkerton, the legacy that was left by your government.
I had the privilege this week to go to Walkerton and stand side
by side with Justice O'Connor as he and I opened the new technology
training centre in Walkerton. At that time, Justice O'Connor, who
talked about all of the areas in water improvement that he needed
to see in this province, so we could ensure that we would never
in this province again have a tragedy like Walkerton, was so very
pleased with what we have accomplished.
So let me spend a few minutes just now telling you about the source-to-tap
protection that we are undertaking. The Clean Water Act is the first
piece of that new era in water protection in the province. We have
done much more --
The Speaker (Hon. Michael A. Brown): Thank you.
Supplementary?
Ms. Scott: When the minister met with Justice
O'Connor this week, I wonder if he asked you when you're going to
implement all the recommendations that you promised you would in
your Liberal campaign? You haven't done that. You're almost three
years into government. It's been a year since the expert water panel
report has come down.
Minister, a lot of time has passed. What have you actually accomplished?
The photo ops are over. So today, when are you going to respond
and implement all of Justice O'Conner's recommendations and respond
to the expert water panel report?
Hon. Ms. Broten: It's a little rich to be lectured
from that side of the House about how we will protect water in this
province. We have increased investments on the waterfront every
step of the way: $67.5 million to the science of watershed mapping
and planning -- for the first time ever in this province, we will
have an understanding of how much drinking water we have and how
good that water is; we have increased the number of inspectors;
we have increased the amount of training; and we have put in multiple
barriers all along the way.
It would also be imperative to conduct a bit of research on the
other side of the House. You should examine the chief drinking water
inspector's recent report. He has clearly indicated that we can
be proud of the safety of the drinking water of this province. Thirty-eight
of 65 of Justice O'Conner recommendations have been done since October
2003, and we will implement every single –
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