In its report card on Canada’s environmental performance, the Conference Board of Canada assigns a “C” for water withdrawals, ranking the country 15 out of 16 in the developed world. It attributes Canada’s excessive withdrawals in part to “water pricing that does not promote efficiency.” Continue reading
Category Archives: Blogs
Pricing missing from Ontario water strategy
Gallery
In its new Water Sector Strategy, Ontario aims to promote public-private partnerships for water infrastructure, encourage alternative financing models, nurture the water technology sector, and increase water conservation. But the Strategy is missing a key piece of the puzzle: full-cost pricing. Continue reading
Minister Bradley take note: We can’t be complacent
Gallery
West Elgin’s mayor warned against complacency after discovering incompetence and deceit in his municipality’s water distribution system. Ontario’s environment minister should heed the mayor’s warning. Continue reading
Echoes of Walkerton: West Elgin water improperly treated, records falsified, operator jailed
Gallery
An Ontario court has fined the Municipality of West Elgin and three of its water distribution system operators a total of $193,125 for failing to maintain and document adequate chlorine levels in drinking water. The court has also sentenced the lead operator to 30 days in jail. Continue reading
Undue influence?
Gallery
A new Polaris Institute report documents a “staggering” rate of lobbying by Canada’s petroleum industry. Do environmentalists and other concerned citizens stand a chance? Continue reading
BC think-tanks call for conservation-oriented water pricing
Gallery
A report from the University of Victoria’s POLIS Project and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives warns of an approaching water crisis and recommends pricing water to encourage its conservation and re-use. Continue reading
Power to the people
Gallery
Several recent surveys have revealed that Canadians distrust federal politicians, feel they have little in common with them, and doubt they are equipped to address important issues facing the country. These findings confirm the importance of Environment Probe’s work to empower individuals and communities. Continue reading
Can public utilities be accountable?
Gallery
Manitoba regulators have charged Winnipeg for polluting the Red River and for failing to report the pollution. In explaining the decision to prosecute, the province cited the need for accountability. But if the city can pass fines along to taxpayers or water customers, is it really accountable for its errors? Continue reading
The flawed logic behind Blue Communities
Gallery
In this guest blog, Essie Solomon argues that municipalities that become Blue Communities do a disservice to their residents and the environment. Continue reading
Private insurance reduces environmental accidents
Gallery
The current edition of Regulation magazine has an interesting article about the role of legal liability in protecting the environment. The authors document the decline in leaks from underground fuel tanks when gas stations are required to carry private clean-up and liability insurance. The price structure for such insurance, they explain, “gives tank owners economic incentives to invest in equipment that reduces the chance of accidental fuel tank leaks.” Continue reading
Ontario’s drinking water: Should you really be confident?
Gallery
In his latest report, Ontario’s Chief Drinking Water Inspector urges readers to have confidence in the quality of their drinking water. But such confidence may be unwarranted. More than a third of Ontario’s municipal systems failed at least one water quality test in the last year. More than a third failed to obtain perfect facility inspection ratings. And almost 60 percent experienced “adverse water quality incidents.” Continue reading
Federal and provincial taxpayers to subsidize sewage treatment in Victoria
Gallery
The governments of Canada and BC have announced that they will foot almost two-thirds of the bill for a new sewage treatment system for Victoria. Such subsidies are inequitable, inefficient, and unnecessary. Continue reading
Debunking the myth of public-sector accountability
Gallery
Those who advocate purely public water and sewage utilities warn that private financing and operation impede transparency, diminish accountability, and undermine government regulation. They have it backwards: Public utilities have repeatedly shown themselves to be un-transparent and un-accountable. Continue reading
Transparency in P3s: disclosure v. confidentiality
Gallery
Last week, a legislative committee considering Manitoba’s Public-Private Partnerships Transparency and Accountability Act heard arguments on both the importance of public access to information and the need to protect industry’s confidential information. Continue reading
Mandating transparency … or killing P3s?
Gallery
In May, the Manitoba government introduced The Public-Private Partnerships Transparency and Accountability Act. Ostensibly intended to ensure transparency, it may instead hamstring municipalities that want to pursue public-private partnerships. Continue reading
Water regulator calls for greater transparency and accountability
Gallery
Concerned about fairness and transparency, Manitoba’s Public Utilities Board is recommending that it regulate the rates charged by Winnipeg’s water and sewer utilities. Continue reading
Factory farms erode democratic rights
Gallery
In a new report examining the impacts of factory farming, the World Society for the Protection of Animals explains that right-to-farm laws have curtailed the rights of rural residents to be free of agricultural pollution. The authors bolster their arguments with quotes from Greener Pastures: Decentralizing the Regulation of Agricultural Pollution. Continue reading
Environmental assessments don’t protect the environment: Bruce Pardy
Gallery
Last week, as most environmentalists bemoaned the federal government’s decision to streamline environmental assessments, one expert shed no tears. Bruce Pardy, professor of environmental law at Queen’s University and member of Ontario’s Environmental Review Tribunal, told CBC Radio that “environmental assessment is not a great way to protect the environment.” Continue reading
Modest growth in US water industry
Gallery
In its annual Water Partnerships Report, Public Works Financing assesses the state of the US water and wastewater services industry. The country’s six largest water and wastewater firms now operate, maintain, and/or manage 720 water facilities and 939 wastewater facilities in 1,319 municipalities. Continue reading
Pricing water to encourage conservation
Gallery
On World Water Day, Elizabeth Brubaker argues for full-cost water pricing. Full-cost prices give water users financial incentives to conserve, while maintaining their freedom to use water in the ways that are most important to them. Continue reading
Environment Probe 