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Environment Minister Jim Prentice has left Canadian mayors scratching their heads about his plans to crack down on water pollution without offering new funding.
Prentice said Tuesday in Brockville that the government is introducing draft regulations to restrict raw sewage dumping with new national standards for municipal waste water plants.
“All Canadians have a responsibility to take action to protect our water,” Prentice said. “The government of Canada is taking concrete steps with new waste water regulations to make sure that Canadians continue to enjoy water that is clean, safe and plentiful.”
The new standards are slated to be published in March following a public consultation period, but Prentice said cities could apply to existing programs such as the federal Building Canada Fund, and the Gas Tax Fund for federal support.
“The government has already put the funding in place,” said Prentice. “Use it.”
While cities agree with the goal of protecting Canada’s waterways, they said there is not enough money on the table to pay for the new standards.
“We can’t just send the bill to property taxpayers,” said Basil Stewart, president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. “Homeowners and small businesses have been hit hard by the recession, and local budgets are stretched as municipalities try taking care of the country’s roads, bridges and water systems with just eight cents of every tax dollar collected in Canada.’‘
The cities had also warned Prentice in a letter that was sent in September there was not enough money left in those funds to cover an estimated $12 billion in upgrades to municipal water infrastructure.
At the time, Stewart wrote that without new funding, the regulations would have a “destructive impact” on cities through major property tax increases and service cuts that would jeopardize Canada’s economic recovery.
But Prentice urged them in September to “wait and see” the timelines and targets, explaining that there would be financial mechanisms in place to cover the cost of implementing the guidelines over the next 20 years.
In Brockville, he said he wanted to hear feedback from all Canadians and their municipalities about his plan in order to “fine-tune” the regulations.
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