Thank you, Mr. Speaker and my colleagues. I will start again:
1. Elders are going without water for at least one or two days, as their children and grandchildren are using their water to do laundry, shower and bath.
2. People are bringing in pipeless honey buckets, and by this they mean, honey buckets with no air vents as the flush toilets are useless when they run out of water.
3. Limited water use is hygienically unhealthy as people have to cutback on their showers, baths, laundry, flushing toilets and house cleaning.
4. People are going to their neighbours, friends and relatives with a pail to borrow water, shower, bath and do laundry. It is not only embarrassing, but it is cutting in on people's privacy as well.
In the long run, it is so unhealthy it is beyond our imagination as to what health problems this water cutback will cause and has already caused. Most families are allowed 500 litres of water a week. If they run out of water and want water delivered, they have to pay $50 for a 250 litre tank. Even for people who can afford to pay it, it is another hardship as the cost of living here is so high. I know of some people, even those who are working, who have to go without water for at least two days as they just cannot afford to pay the $50.
The ones suffering are the unemployed, the elders and the single mothers, as they are on a very limited income and this unbelievable cutback is just another hardship to set them back. I am sure there are many other problems I have not mentioned. I would also like to point out that we are definitely going back in time when we use honey buckets. But at least at that time, the honey buckets had vents, running around with a pail to get water. Unfortunately, those who cannot afford very much have to suffer more because of the water issue. Whoever made this water delivery cutback should know this water is the main source of living, especially in this modern age and day."
Mr. Speaker, it is hard to really nail down as to who can trace responsibility for the final decision for the water cutback. If we go and trace this thing, Mr. Speaker, this supply is in particular to residents in social housing. This does not apply to people who own their own homes. We are in a situation here where who would make the decision to cutback water in social housing? Is it the local housing board? Obviously, they are only responding to cutbacks from the Housing Corporation. Is it the Housing Corporation? No, they are responding to cutbacks designated to them by the Minister. Is it the Minister then? No, he would say that he is responding to cutbacks agreed to by Cabinet.
At some point in time, somebody will say well, maybe it is the hamlet council. Well then the hamlet council will say no, we are responding because we have been cutback by MACA and MACA will say no, we are not responsible because we are responding to a cutback approved by the Members. And of course we Members will say no, we did not approve any of this, the departments did it on their own or they stretched the decisions made by the Legislative Assembly. Therefore we come back to this one particular point, that we all agreed the elders and the poor would not be the ones to pay for us to balance the budget.
-- Applause
We all said that and we all intended it that way, but that is not the way it is turning out. We should take that into consideration. We have been doing this for two years now and we should see what the results are of the decisions we have made. Who do I, as a Member, an MLA, which Member of this House do I question as to who made the final decision of the cutback? I have already said that when it reaches the point of the Ministers, they all say no we are responding to a cutback or the Finance Minister says everybody must cutback ten percent. The Finance Minister will say we all agreed to this, therefore, nobody is responsible for this in the end. Nobody is responsible for this decision.
I, as an MLA, am confused as to who I ask in order to put the water back. If nobody is responsible for cutting it, then obviously it should not have been done. Mr. Speaker, I would like to invite the Premier and the Finance Minister to personally view the results of their decisions in my region. I would like them to come to my community and I will personally introduce them to some of these people in this letter. If they are invited for tea by these people, they should take the tea because more than likely that elder had to borrow the water to offer them tea. Thank you.
-- Applause