FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 25, 2002
No air monitoring; no water inspections
TORONTO – Since March 13 when 45,000 members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union went on strike, none of the laws protecting Ontario’s environment have been enforced.
For the first time in 30 years there is no air quality monitoring. There is no basis for Medical Officers of Health to issue air quality warnings.
There is no enforcement of drinking water regulations. Nobody is inspecting drinking water facilities. For seven weeks, notifications of serious drinking water violations have accumulated in the Ministry of the Environment. The system is relying on those operating the system to regulate themselves and implement
corrective action.
“Walkerton has proven to us that this is not an effective way to ensure water safety,” said OPSEU President Leah Casselman. “Yet again, the government is gambling with public safety and public health.”
Without enforcement, nobody is checking to see that business and industry are complying with the regulations on discharging pollutants or illegally dumping wastes. The bad actors know that the enforcement staff are on the picket lines and they have an excellent chance of getting away with it, said Casselman.
In the end, the taxpayers will pay for the cleanup. A single day of unchecked pollution may take months, years, and even decades, to correct.
“When the government told citizens about services that would not be available during the strike, they talked about documents, licences and various applications. They never mentioned services we all expect, services we have never had to apply for, services that have never expired,” she said.
“This is Earth Week. Take a deep breath of Ontario air and realize that the ministry inspectors who normally monitor it have been walking picket lines instead of keep an eye on our environment.”
– 30 –
For further information:
www.opseu.org
Katie FitzRandolph: 416-448-7440 or cell 416-788-9057 or kfitzrandolph@opseu.org
Cheriene Vieira, regional program coordinator, MOE: (905) 315-8182
