The President of Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador is responding to an announcement from the province that will affect funding for communities under long term boil water advisories.
According to MNL, last week Minister of Municipal Affairs and Environment Derrick Bragg announced that communities under long term boil water advisories will not be given funding for capital works projects until their water issues are resolved.
In total, 144 communities across the province are affected by boil water advisories, with 68 of those being municipalities.
Boil water advisories currently affect many communities in NL. Dealing with these advisories should involve more support from the provincial government not less. @SheilaDFitz #SeatAtTheTable #nlmuni #nlpoli @DerrickBragg @MAE_GovNL @GovNL pic.twitter.com/phLp4xV2u6
— MNL (@MunicipalNL) March 4, 2020
Three quarters of those advisories are due to issues with chlorination, existing system contamination or maintenance.
Further to that, MNL says there is no funding available to fix those types of issues.
#LetsWorkTogether I've reached out to @DerrickBragg and senior @MAE_GovNL staff to discuss next steps. We must get clarification on this new policy and revisit our research and the good work we’ve done on drinking water. #nlmuni #nlpoli @GovNL @MunicipalNL
— Sheila Fitzgerald (@SheilaDFitz) March 4, 2020
Speaking on VOCM Open Line with Paddy Daly, President of MNL Sheila Fitzgerald says they were not aware such new rules were even being considered, and they do not feel it is progressive action.
She says it almost feels like a threat, and she is very concerned about how it will affect the 68 communities.