A recent report says hundreds of thousands of Canadians could be drinking lead-laced drinking water.
Ontario’s Environment Minister Jeff Yurek says he has read the report, but for the most part the province’s residents don’t have to worry.
“Ontario’s water is in great shape. In fact 99% of municipal residential drinking water systems met Ontario’s drinking water standards. 95% of schools and childrens centres, with over 87,000 test results, met Ontario standards for lead in drinking water.”
Yurek adds the government will continue to work with municipalities to ensure that drinking water is clear of lead.
However, the NDP’s Judith Monteith-Farrell says the lead comes from the pipes and in many cases, the aging infrastructure hasn’t been replaced.
The Thunder Bay-Atikokan MPP says residents in her home community are dealing with lead concerns because of old pipes.
“Even after treating the water, investigators found high levels of lead in people’s drinking water in over 100 failed tests.”
NDP Municipalities critic Jeff Burch questions the PC’s commitment to clean drinking water, noting provincial funding for the Clean Water and Wastewater Fund was cut from over $111 million last year, down to just $1,000 this year.
The Fund provides funding for municipal water infrastructure, so cities and towns can have safer drinking water.
In Canada, there is no national mandate to test drinking water and agencies that conduct tests have no obligation to inform residents.
Provinces set their own rules for water testing and lead pipe replacement.
