News Release
Office of the Official Opposition

Health implications warrant comprehensive response

November 17, 2005

"There are currently 246 boil order advisories issued in this province and at least 12 of those were due to the detection of E.Coli bacteria," said Jones. "There is no doubt that we have a serious problem in this province and the government does not seem to have any comprehensive plan for dealing with it at this time.

"Given the number of communities on boil orders and the length of time the situation has existed, it is obvious that the government is not providing adequate funding levels to have these problems dealt with. Government must develop more innovative ways of dealing with this crisis situation or these problems will continue or even deteriorate."

The Liberal MHA says the recent evacuation of Kashechewan First Nation in Northern Ontario because of serious water problems illustrates the level of seriousness with this kind of problem. The Cree reserve with a population of 1,700 had to be evacuated recently because of health problems resulting from E. Coli infected drinking water. "We are at a very high risk of similar health problems arising here in this province if the provincial government is not more active in dealing with the problem."

The Walkerton tragedy, where seven people died and 2,300 were made ill five years ago, resulted from people drinking E.Coli contaminated water. This incident caused government to review what it was doing in this province at the time, but Jones says it is now time to renew our interest in the situation. "The Walkerton incident was a real wake-up call and now this latest incident should serve to renew our commitment to dealing with this problem. The current situation is not acceptable and should not be allowed to continue."

Media Contact:
Jeff Mackey
Caucus Communications
Office of the Official Opposition
709-729-6427