RAWB - Residents Against Water Bill

We, the undersigned petition Premiere Dalton McGuinty and his government to change the manner in which the Government is funding the capital costs and operating costs of water and waste plants that must be built to comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act in Ontario.
The Government did not look closely enough at the cost of these upgrades or the costs of operating these new plants in relationship to the small communities. The result is HUGE costs to communities with very small populations and very low tax bases. These costs are producing undo hardship for the residents of these communities.
Mr. McGuinty continually states Ontario's water system must be financially sustainable and affordable. This is definitely NOT the case under the current funding formula for capitol construction of 1/3 Federal Funding, 1/3 Provincial funding and 1/3 Municipal funding. In many cases the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines has co-funded the municipals 1/3 by 50\%. This is still leaving capitol costs of hundreds of thousand to millions of dollars to be shared by small populations, frequently under 500 residents and in some cases less than 100 people. The operating costs of these plants are hundreds of thousands of dollars annually as well. In the north gas prices are higher, heating costs are higher, food costs are higher, unemployment is higher; often with seasonal jobs only resulting in severe hardship for people who are now faced with these huge costs.
Thank you very much for your support & all the best!
The RAWB Committee