The Conservative Legacy in Ontario

Today, sentences were handed down for Stan and Frank Koebel, two of the key players in the Walkerton tragedy.

In 1996, the Progressive Conservative government of Ontario decided to privatize water testing for the province. They ignored a number of claims that the haste with which the change was being made would lead to safety problems. The government's argument was, as always, that private testing companies will do the job better than public institutions.

In May of 2000 7 people died and over 2000 became ill when water became contaminated in Walkerton, Ontario.

In 2002, an inquiry put most of the blame on the Koebels, especially Stan Koebel, the former manager of Walkerton's Public Utilities Commission. The CBC summarizes the inquiry's findings:

• Up to 400 illnesses could have been prevented if water manager Stan Koebel had monitored the chlorine levels daily and had notified authorities right away that the water was contaminated.
• The Ontario government failed to make reporting of positive tests for contamination mandatory when water testing was privatized in 1996.
• Government cuts at the province's Environment Ministry made it less capable of identifying and dealing with problems at Walkerton's water utility.
• The local health unit was quick to respond to the crisis with a boil-water advisory, but it should have been more wide-spread. Many Walkerton residents were not aware of the warning.

Today, Stan received a one-year prison sentence and Frank received nine months house arrest.

I think the current (Liberal) Premier is doing a lousy job. But I'd much rather have him in power than the Progressive Conservatives.