Who should pay?

Rural Ontarians are not "radicals."

We want clean and abundant water as much as anyone. However, we oppose a law that effectively allows expropriation without fair or timely compensation. Example: a town expands and needs more water so it drills a new well on a rural property. By virtue of the Act, the property owner must pay the cost of application for and establishment of a "risk management plan" and other costs associated with the exercising of power under the Clean Water Act.

In addition, the owner may be obliged to cease or reduce activities (for example, farming) with a resulting loss of income and a certain loss of property value. Compensation is not provided for.

No urban property owner would tolerate this sort of action by the province. Rural Ontario will willingly provide whatever the public is prepared to pay for. The real issue is fairness.

Don Lobb