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Judy Foote, MHA for the District of Grand Bank, raised
the E. coli problem in the Lawn water supply in the House of Assembly again
on Wednesday, insisting that Municipal and Provincial Affairs Minister Jack
Byrne honor a statement he made committing $328,000 to fix the problem with
the town’s water supply system. "Yesterday in
the House of Assembly, the Minister, in his final answer to my questions,
committed to providing 100% of the funding required to replace the water
filtration system," said Foote. "I sincerely believed the Minister had a
change of heart during question period and was willing to step up to the
plate and provide the badly needed funding knowing the financial
difficulties being experienced by the town and the seriousness of the
situation with E.coli in the town’s water supply.
"It was, to say the least, disappointing to later hear
the Minister in the news media stating that the issue was about money and
that he would only commit to providing 70% of the funding required for the
water system. He is on record as saying Canadian standards don’t allow for
the presence of any E. coli. He them made what I consider to be an
incredulous statement in the media when he said "people shouldn’t get sick
if they boil their water properly". People may boil the water for drinking
purposes but are they aware of the dangers of using the water for bathing or
brushing their teeth? With potentially fatal bacteria present in a water
supply, and for the Minister to fail to take whatever action is necessary to
deal with the matter for financial reasons is irresponsible and dangerous.
Yesterday the two people who were responsible for the Walkerton tragedy were
sentenced in court. This should serve as a wake-up call to this Minister,
and to this government, to act quickly and decisively to ensure the safety
of the residents of Lawn.
The community of Lawn has been under a boil water
advisory for 17 months and E. coli bacteria was discovered when the town had
an independent study because the government doesn’t carry out tests on water
that isn’t chlorinated. "The town’s water supply isn’t chlorinated because
the town doesn’t have the money to replace or repair their water treatment
facility. They are caught in the middle trying to deal with a most serious
situation while the government puts money first instead of living up to its
responsibility to ensure that all residents of Newfoundland and Labrador
have access to safe drinking water." |