WHEREAS: private water systems (e.g., wells) are not protected through legislated requirements under The Safe Drinking Water Act 2002 and The Clean Water Act 2006, but are more likely to contribute to cases of gastrointestinal illness than municipal systems; and
WHEREAS: the 2023 Ontario Auditor General’s value-for-money audit of Public Health Ontario (PHO) recommended that PHO, in conjunction with the Ontario Ministry of Health, begin the gradual discontinuance of free private drinking water testing; and
WHEREAS: in the County of Dufferin, many households do not receive water from municipal systems, with many relying on a private drinking water system, including wells; and
WHEREAS: the Walkerton Inquiry Report Part II, concluded the privatization of laboratory testing of drinking water samples contributed directly to the E. coli outbreak in Walkerton, Ontario in May 2000; and Whereas all Ontarians deserve safe, clean water, and free well-water testing is a way to help ensure that residents on private wells continue to have barrier-free access to well water testing.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT: the Town of Shelburne call on the Province to not phase out free well-water testing as part of the proposed streamlining efforts of public health laboratory operations in the province; and
FURTHER THAT: this resolution be circulated to the Hon. Sylvia Jones, Minister of Health; Hon. Lisa Thompson, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs; Hon. Andrea Khanjin, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks; local MPPs; all municipalities, The County of Dufferin and Conservations Ontario and Ontario’s conservation authorities.
CARRIED, W. Mills