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Toronto – Laurel Broten, Ontario’s Environment Minister, presented the Clean Water Act, 2005 to the Legislative Assembly and it passed Second Reading this afternoon. The Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA) commends the Ontario Legislature for its continued support of this important legislation. The purpose of the Act is to protect existing and future sources of drinking water. It supports the implementation of at least 22 of Justice O’Connor’s recommendations following the Walkerton Inquiry.
In the Report of the Walkerton Inquiry, Justice O’Connor recommended that drinking water sources be protected through watershed-based source protection plans. He also noted the importance of including the public in the preparation of these plans. The Act accomplishes both of these objectives by providing for the creation of source protection committees, which will in turn develop plans for the protection of their watersheds. Members of the public may sit on the committees, and will be invited to comment on the proposed plans.
“At the Walkerton Inquiry, Justice O’Connor spoke of a ‘multi-barrier’ approach to drinking water safety. The first barrier is the protection of water sources from contamination or depletion,
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