A News Analysis from the Canadian Environmental Law Association, a not-for-profit group of lawyers fighting for environmental protection
Posted May 6th, 2025 on Niagara At Large
In May 2000, seven people died, and over two thousand became severely ill after the municipal water supply in Walkerton, Ontario, became contaminated with E. coli.
This event triggered a two-year provincial inquiry — led by Justice Dennis O’Connor — into the causes of the contamination in Walkerton (Part 1) and the state of drinking water protection in Ontario (Part 2).
The Inquiry revealed a disorganized water management system in the province that relied on voluntary compliance from municipalities that lacked expertise and resources. In the reports that followed, Justice O’Connor made 121 recommendations for strengthening drinking water protection in Ontario.
The Walkerton Inquiry helped introduce a robust multi-barrier approach to drinking water safety in Ontario and resulted in an overhaul of Ontario’s drinking water laws and regulations. It was the foundation for Ontario’s Safe Drinking Water Act (2002) and Clean Water Act (2006), which continue to regulate our water systems today.
Now, 25 years later, we must continue to recognize this significant event and examine both the advancements in drinking water protection that it prompted and the remaining gaps in Ontario’s current drinking water protection regime.
Read the full blog post (https://cela.ca/safe-drinking-water-25-years-after-walkerton/) by Communications Intern Elizabeth Kwofie, where she examines Ontario’s Safe Drinking Water Act (2002) and Clean Water Act (2006), discusses the status of Justice O’Connor’s recommendations, and reviews two recent enactments — Bills 97 (2023) and 23 (2022) — which seem to go out of their way to undermine the existing water protection laws, policies, and agencies created to prevent threats to drinking water following the Walkerton tragedy.
The blog also touches on the recent audit conducted by Ontario’s Auditor General, which has raised alarms about the province’s failure to adequately oversee non-municipal drinking water systems, leaving millions of Ontarians at risk. This is a stark reminder that the work of protecting our drinking water is far from finished.
For more from the Canadian Environmental Law Association, click on the following links –
https://mailchi.mp/5ff520c11126/celas-april-newsletter?e=ad2bf83831)
https://cela.ca/april-2025-newsletter-intervenor-volume-51-number-2/
NIAGARA AT LARGE Encourages You To Join The Conversation By Sharing Your Views On This Post In The Space Following The Bernie Sanders Quote Below.
“A Politician Thinks Of The Next Election. A Leader Thinks Of The Next Generation.” – Bernie Sanders
Niagara At Large 