Sather speaks to Public Health Act
May 14, 2008
VICTORIA –New Democrat MLA Michael Sather is calling on the Campbell government to ensure the protection of drinking water and the ability for citizens to trigger an investigation into potential health hazards.
Sather’s remarks came during Wednesday’s debate on Bill 23, The Public Health Act.
Michael Sather “Bill 23 is an effort to modernize key pieces of legislation, including the protection of drinking water,” said Sather, the MLA for Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows. “But the government has removed vital organs for citizen engagement, most notably the ability for individuals to raise the alarm bells on potential hazards.”
Sather noted that sections 57 and 58 of the Health Act are deleted by Bill 23. Those sections allowed individual citizens to trigger an investigation into health hazards.
“Often it is community groups that are the first to raise concerns,” said Sather. “For example, citizens on the Sunshine Coast, who had been concerned about the potential impacts of logging along Chapman Creek on their drinking water, were able to use the Health Act to trigger an investigation by the district.”
“These omissions will create a fundamental gap in the legislation,” said Sather. “This kind of mechanism should not be lost.”
Sather pointed to the efforts by the Blue Mountain Conservation Group and citizens of Thornhill in Maple Ridge, who have been struggling for years to protect their watershed. Recent development and logging in the region has raised concerns over the impact on water quality.
“I know that the people of Maple Ridge and the Blue Mountain Conservation Group are totally frustrated that the Campbell government is in no way taking on that challenge or paying attention to their concerns,” said Sather. “Now they are removing from law the ability of citizen groups to provide input into potential health hazards in their communities.
“It is a failure on the part of the government to continue to ignore the efforts of citizens,” concluded Sather.
Sather’s remarks came during Wednesday’s debate on Bill 23, The Public Health Act.
Michael Sather “Bill 23 is an effort to modernize key pieces of legislation, including the protection of drinking water,” said Sather, the MLA for Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows. “But the government has removed vital organs for citizen engagement, most notably the ability for individuals to raise the alarm bells on potential hazards.”Sather noted that sections 57 and 58 of the Health Act are deleted by Bill 23. Those sections allowed individual citizens to trigger an investigation into health hazards.
“Often it is community groups that are the first to raise concerns,” said Sather. “For example, citizens on the Sunshine Coast, who had been concerned about the potential impacts of logging along Chapman Creek on their drinking water, were able to use the Health Act to trigger an investigation by the district.”
“These omissions will create a fundamental gap in the legislation,” said Sather. “This kind of mechanism should not be lost.”
Sather pointed to the efforts by the Blue Mountain Conservation Group and citizens of Thornhill in Maple Ridge, who have been struggling for years to protect their watershed. Recent development and logging in the region has raised concerns over the impact on water quality.
“I know that the people of Maple Ridge and the Blue Mountain Conservation Group are totally frustrated that the Campbell government is in no way taking on that challenge or paying attention to their concerns,” said Sather. “Now they are removing from law the ability of citizen groups to provide input into potential health hazards in their communities.
“It is a failure on the part of the government to continue to ignore the efforts of citizens,” concluded Sather.
Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows
Michael Sather was re-elected as the MLA for Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows on May 12, 2009. He was first elected to the Legislature in 2005.
