http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=4c5f8fb3-c8ec-493 6-878a-b4a27a377ff6&k=39291
Group calls for national standards Dennis Bueckert Canadian Press Health Canada has estimated that unsafe drinking water causes 90,000 illnesses and 90 deaths every year. OTTAWA - Six years after the Walkerton tragedy, communities in most provinces and territories remain at risk of waterborne illness due to inadequate water testing and treatment, says a national study. Only four provinces - Alberta, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec - require advanced treatment of drinking water, such as state-of-the-art filtration, says the study by the Sierra Legal Defence Fund. Only two provinces, Ontario and Newfoundland, provide routine information on water quality by publicizing test results, says the report. The situation in First Nations communities is described as scandalous. Where does your province rank? More Body & Health news "It really indicates a misplaced sense of priorities," says Randy Christensen, author of the report. He says the public doesn't realize the level of water-related illness and death. Health Canada has estimated that unsafe drinking water causes 90,000 illnesses and 90 deaths every year. These don't get public attention unless they occur in clusters, said Christensen. "The cost is quite high and there's really no excuse in a country that's as well off as Canada and has the abundance of water supply." Canada has no enforceable drinking water standards such as those enjoyed by the United States and the European Union. That's partly because the federal government lacks authority to impose regulations on the provinces, but Ottawa could show leadership by pushing for minimum standards, says Christensen. "If you look at the things the federal government could and should be doing . . . you can pretty much say they're doing an abysmal job." The number of boil-water advisory days in municipalities across Canada increased 24 pr cent between 1993 and 1998, says the report. More recent data are not available. Christensen said Ottawa should be keeping track of national trends in water quality problems, in part by maintaining a registry of boil-water advisories. The report says that many cash-strapped communities don't have the means to upgrade water treatment facilities, or to invest in operator training. It says provincial governments opt for small improvements to save money, and the federal government takes a similar approach. A countrywide trend to deregulation compounds the problem. The report grades Canada's jurisdictions for their water safety policies: Ontario, A-; Quebec, B+; Alberta, B; Nova Scotia, B; Saskatchewan, B-; British Columbia, C+; Manitoba, C+; Northwest Territories, C+; Nunavut, C; Newfoundland, C-; Prince Edward Island, C-; Yukon, C-; New Brunswick, D. (c) The Canadian Press 2006 _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
