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Back to Subjects - Geography

Canada and Safe Water

Canada and Safe Water Canada is an enormous country that has its cities and communities spread form one sea to another. Many great distances often separate these areas, and sometimes force these areas to develop their own identities out of isolation. Even sometimes communities are faced with disasters that force certain identities on them. Such identities can often resemble the national identity, but most of the time, they represent the community’s own views. The way a community sees national issues says a great deal about their identity and the same goes for the national side. The way community issues are dealt with through the community shows a great sense of pride and determination to make the best out of one’s surroundings, and the way those same community issues are dealt with nationally shows how much our country cares for the well being of the people. All of these issues present today are mostly portrayed through the eyes of the media and their coverages. Today, the media presents its opinions on the issues and determines the importance through the amount of coverage. A good example to portray this situation is through Walkerton, Ontario. Last year, it was home of the outbreak of E.Coli water contamination, a more community issue that got the attention of the whole province and the nation. Since this disaster, there has been attempts from the surrounding communities and the nation to improve the water systems, especially in Ontario. This major event was covered by both “The Globe and Mail” and “The Toronto Star”, and represented two opinions on how to deal with the matter. On Friday, 26 May 2000 a quiet little town in the rural heartland of Ontario was struck with a water crisis. (“Toronto Star” 22 Dec.) It was described as Canada’s worst outbreak of E.Coli contamination, where cattle manure contaminated the farming community’s water. (“Globe and Mail”, 24 Jan.) An outbreak of E.Coli contaminated water that killed seven people and made hundreds of people suffer from the symptoms. The disaster could have been prevented, according to the local medical officer of health. (“Toronto Star” 22 Dec.) Apparently the Walkerton Utilities Commission knew about the problem with the water several days before they told the public about it. (In-depth: It didn’t take long for this disaster to become political. On 29 May, 2000 Ontario Environment Minister Dan Newman called a news conference to say that changes will be made to ensure that the province’s water supply is safe. Mr. Newman, at the Ontario legislature, said, “If there is something positive that can ever come out of an event like this, it is that changes be made to ensure that it doesn’t ever happen again”. (In-depth: Inside Walkerton) Also, Agriculture Minister Ernie Hardeman announced that the province would toughen legislation on factory farms. (“Globe and Mail”, 24 Jan.) Recent testimony at the judicial inquiry into the Walkerton deaths shows that it was the town’s public utility that my have been most negligent. (“Toronto Star” 29 Jan.) Since this tragedy, the Ontario government is seeking to protect groundwater and reduce conflict over factory farms. And is set to introduce legislation placing a stricter control over intensive livestock operations and the disposal of dead farm animals. Last year, after the Walkerton disaster, Agriculture Minister Ernie Hardeman announced that the province would toughen legislation on factory farms. (“Globe and Mail”, 24 Jan.) The confidential draft summary of the proposed legislation says that tougher regulations are to “help protect Ontario’s water quality and public safety by setting the stage for clear, provincewide standards regarding the management of nutrients (including manure) and deadstock on farms,” and that the government wants to stop public concerns about intensive livestock operations. (“Globe and Mail”, 24 Jan.) The proposal is a recognition that rules that were first put in place by small-scale farms are no longer as satisfactory for massive agribusiness operations, and that can have a big jolt on the environment. Paul Muldoon, the executive director of the Canadian Environmental Law Association says, “These are big industrial farms. There is no doubt that the number of people farming has been going down, but the size of the [remaining] farms is going up.” He also said that the farms should stop approving new factory farms while the legislation is being considered. (“Globe and Mail”, 24 Jan.) According to the draft, the legislation would require farms to have manure-management plans, require farmers to train before being allowed to apply nutrients, and give the government inspectors the right to enter the farms whenever they wanted without a warrant. Also, the government wants to give itself the ability to regulate the storage and spreading of animal wastes around communal wells and water bodies. The provincial and municipal officials would both share the enforcement responsibilities, which happens to be a “major weakness in the legislation,” according to Mr. Muldoon. He said that because municipal governments do not have the political will nor the resources to monitor large businesses. (“Globe and Mail”, 24 Jan.) The new rules, the draft says, would give the province the power to constitute standards for “the storage, transportation, and disposal of dead animals on agricultural operations by farmers.” (“Globe and Mail”, 24 Jan.) Records testify that the proposal will be issued soon and that the public will have until 30 March to comment on it. The minister’s spokeswoman, Joanne Farquhar, said that the decision on the legislation is not yet final, but that the proposals under construction are viewed by the government as the most extensive of their kind in Canada. (“Globe and Mail”, There are around 67,000 farm in Ontario and the numbers have been sliding while the farms have gotten significantly larger. For instance, according to the provincial records, the number of pork producers has dropped from 93,000 to about 5,500 in 1951. Pig production has become more concentrated as the number of producers has declined, bringing with it the potential for large-scale environmental problems. A pig farm with 3,600 animals produces as much excrement as a city of 15,000 people, creating a huge potential for water contamination with proper controls. The biggest difficulty with this type of intensive farming is that the capacity of the livestock to produce manure that far exceeds the ability of the surrounding lands to absorb it all safely as fertilizer. (“Globe and Mail”, 24 Jan.) The “Toronto Star”, unlike the “Globe and Mail”, presented its problem for safe water more on what type of services will run the water systems in Ontario, instead of legislations and bills being passed. Private firms may soon bid for the water services in Many assume that the province has already decided that privatization is the way to go. Premier Mike Harris said his government is considering how to get more private involvement. He said it might lead to “larger, more sophisticated, more professionally operated facilities”. (“Toronto Star” 29 Jan.) The basic interests of consumers is a safe and reliable source of drinking water. However, the incentive that drives large corporations is making profits. (“Toronto Star 28 Jan.) Privatization, in Toronto, would give cheaper and more efficient systems. (“Toronto At the moment, the large firm companies run the main system and do the core business. The private companies are the ones that do the major construction, repairs and maintenance. The plants need to stay in good shape. They need constant maintenance and upgrading. The pipes, especially the ones that carry the water, need hundreds of millions of dollars worth of improvements--mostly relining or replacement, and the removal of lead connectors from homes in the older parts of the cities. Currently, at the rate of work, it would take 350 years for the whole job to be completed. (“Toronto Star” 28 Jan.) Just how much the private-sector firms are hired to do varies widely. They can either do the water services or the sewer services. But in each of the cases, proper facilities must be designed, built, operated, and maintained, and eventually upgraded. Proper equipment and supplies are to be purchased, and of course, employees need to be trained, supervised, and paid. And often, unions have to be dealt with. (“Toronto Star 28 Jan.) Water is essential, but it is not a luxury. Governments can effortlessly cross-subsidize water systems to keep rates down. Private owners, however, cannot. When private owners raise their rates, the result may be riots. (“Toronto Star” 29 Jan.) For privatization, taxpayers couldn’t afford to pay for everything. The solution for that would be to involve a company with a fat bank account. The more money is needed, the more water and sewer rates are raised, or the city could borrow, which could eventually impact rates. The Ontario Water Wastewater Association conducted a study in 1999, and concluded that the cost of bringing all of Ontario’s water and sewer services up to standard would be $32 billion over 20 years. (“Toronto Star” 28 Jan.) A Toronto-based Environment Probe, Elizabeth Brubaker, who backs privatization, says, “That’s an enormous expenditure. We won’t see that from the government. The private sector has the cold, hard cash to do it”. (“Toronto Star” 28 Jan.) Toronto could benefit from privatization. A contract would be set up to reward reduced pollution and to cut water use, which could all lead to innovations like paying homeowners to disconnect their eavestroughs from the stormwater systems or even creating “Toronto Star” Report: Compensation for disaster Every man, woman, and child who was in Walkerton during the water crisis situation would receive at least $2,000 as part of a proposed $50 million settlement of a huge class-action suit. Guaranteed by the Ontario government, this tentative deal also calls for the courts to supervise the compensation for those with much higher claims arising out of the deaths or serious illness of a relative. (“Toronto Star” 30 Jan.) Bruce Davidson, a spokesperson for Concerned Walkerton Citizens, said the $2,000 per person offer was “grossly inadequate.” During the more than six months, he calculated, the town was under a boil-water advisory, each person spent an average of three hours a day boiling and carrying water and traveling out of town to take showers. So if you calculate that at minimum wage, that’s more than $2,000 per person, that’s about $10 a day. Four plaintiffs are seeking $250 million in general and punitive damages in a class-action suit. “This sends a message to the rest of Ontario that diminishes the enormity of what has happened here,” said Davidson. (“Toronto Star” 30 Jan.) Comparison between national and regional views: The issue of safe water was presented in both the regional, “The Toronto Star”, and the national, “The Globe and Mail”, newspapers. It showed that the national side’s concern and proposition was different to that of the regional one. The national newspaper seemed more interested in the legal side of the matter. It mostly discussed the issue of the legislations and bills to be passed. For example, the legislation would require the farmers to train properly, have a manure-management plan, and give government inspectors the right, without warrant, to enter the farms at any time to check up on the operations of the farm. The new rules would improve the way of living for the farmers and ensure that there would always be safe conditions for the water, and most importantly guarantee that no more events, like that of last years, would not happen again. The regional newspaper, however, presented its views as to what type of business was going to operate the water systems. For the most part, the idea of privatization was on debate. If privatization of the water companies did occur, people would get a safe and reliable source of drinking water, and not some huge corporation just trying to make a profit. That would mean that safe water would flow whenever a tap is turned on and that wastes would go away when a toilet is flushed. In conclusion, these two articles explained much about Canadian identity and how it can change, depending on the region and the situation. It shows, especially, how the regions can change when disasters occur and how the nation can get involved to help that region. The articles about the Walkerton tragedy was covered by both the “Globe and Mail” and the “Toronto Star” and also by “CBC”. Its predominant coverage was by the regional media, mainly because it had the most local concern. Although, in all of the coverages, the concerns of the government and the people were voiced and they gave their suggestions on how to It was obvious that the whole country felt a concern for the Walkerton tragedy. Canada can definitely say that it learned from the situation, and it shows by the national coverage. It was like everyone was trying to help, no matter where they lived. Canada is considered a national community, that spreads from sea to sea. Bibliography: Canadian Press. “$2,000-a-head Walkerton Offer.” Toronto Star 30 January 2001. Gorrie, Peter. “Can High Profit Flow with Safe Water?” Toronto Star 28 January 2001. “Ontario’s Rural Heartland in Shock.” CBC Indepth. 2000. Mallan, Caroline. “Half of Ontario Water Plants Flawed.” Toronto Star 22 December 2000. Mittelstaedt, Martin. “Factory-farm Controls Aim to Protect Water.” Globe and Mail 24 January 2001. Walkom, Thomas. “Is Water Seeping into Corporate Hands?” Toronto Star 29 January 2001.

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