Walkerton water tragedy report

On January 14, 2002, the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General released Part I of the Report of the Walkerton Commission of Inquiry, prepared by Mr. Justice Dennis O’Connor. The Ontario government called for the inquiry after the Walkerton water crisis in May 2000 in which seven people died and 2,300 became ill as a result of E.coli contamination. The report reviews the contamination of the Walkerton water supply and looks into the safety of Ontario’s drinking water. Ontario Premier Mike Harris says that Justice O’Connor’s report will be the linchpin in helping the Ontario government and governments across Canada to prevent similar tragedies in the future. According to Mr. Harris, of the 28 recommendations in this report, the province has already implemented or is in the process of implementing more than two-thirds of them as part of Operation Clean Water.

(See “Sludge Fight” in the December/January edition.)

Report of the Walkerton Commission of Inquiry
<http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/html/cad/walkertonrpt1.htm>

Walkerton Inquiry <http://www.walkertoninquiry.com/>
The official page for the inquiry has a comprehensive set of documents and transcripts.

<http://www.gov.on.ca/>
<http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/html/cad/sccpwcas.htm> A PDF file of the proposed class-action settlement for the residents of Walkerton.

Town of Walkerton <http://town.walkerton.on.ca/> Includes a fact sheet on the Walkerton outbreak.

Ontario Ministry of Environment <http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/envision/drinking.html> Read the Ministry of Environment’s latest information on water safety.

<http://www.srhip.on.ca/bgoshu2/_private/Walkerton/SPWalkerton.htm> dedicated to the outbreak.

Health Canada <http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/>