Statement by Rebecca Kolarich, Water Program Manager

Toronto | Treaty Lands and Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, and the traditional territory of the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – Despite recently proposed amendments, the Water and Wastewater Public Corporations Act still opens the door to stealth water privatization across the province, putting Ontario’s drinking water and environment at risk.

At the core of this troubling legislation is a sweeping transfer of power—one that allows the province to seize a municipality’s water or sewage system and hand it over to a for-profit corporation, with or without the municipality’s consent.

Requiring that all shares in these for-profit corporations be held by governments and their agencies sounds like a safeguard—but it isn’t. No amount of government ownership changes what a for-profit corporation is legally designed to do: make money.

When profit is the bottom line, public safety and environmental protection take a backseat. A corporation driven by financial returns has no place running a service that every Ontarian depends on.

The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing says there are no plans to privatize water, but Ontarians shouldn’t have to take his word for it. If the government is serious about protecting public water, it needs to fix the act’s most dangerous provisions, including:

  • The problematic requirement that these water and wastewater corporations must be for-profit business corporations
  • The lack of transparency and accountability, leaving the public in the dark about how their water is being managed
  • The Minister’s unchecked authority to seize municipal water systems and hand them over to for-profit corporations without municipal consent

Background Information

ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.

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For more information or to request an interview, please contact:

Erinn Steringa, media@environmentaldefence.ca