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| 2002 |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 17, 2002 Hiring of water inspectors should only be the first step in rebuilding the public service: Ontario Public Service Employees Union TORONTO - The Conservative government’s plan to hire 51 permanent water inspectors is a step in the right direction, but more rebuilding of the public service needs to follow, says the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU). Additional staff are also desperately needed to enforce a new government regulation aimed at protecting the water supplies at some 2,000 facilities, including nursing and retirement homes, schools and day care centres, OPSEU says, because the elderly and children are considered the most vulnerable to contaminants such as E. coli. “It’s a tragedy that it took seven deaths and a Commission of Inquiry to convince this government to hire additional inspectors to ensure our municipal drinking water is safe,” said Leah Casselman, president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union. “We hope this is the government’s first step in rebuilding the Ministry of the Environment after cutting its staff by more than a third in the late ‘90s.” Casselman said OPSEU members report that the government’s crisis response to Walkerton drew resources from the protection of other areas of the environment, including air, hazardous waste and industrial sewage. -30- For more information:
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Ontario Public Service Employees Union, 100 Lesmill Rd. Toronto, ON M3B 3P8 (416) 443-8888 www.opseu.org |
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