Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as a result of the tragic events in Walkerton, Ontario and North Battleford, Saskatchewan, governments across the country have focused on reviewing and improving the systems they have in place to provide safe drinking water to their residents. This government is no different.
While the front line for provision of safe drinking water is the local community government, a number of territorial departments also play a part. Health and Social Services establishes the health standards and monitors the quality of drinking water. Municipal and Community Affairs provides financial resources for reconstruction and operation of community water systems and provides operator training through the School of Community Government.
Public Works and Services provides technical support for the construction and operation of water system infrastructure. Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development contributes to the protection of our water sources. Together, the departments developed and in June 2001, received Cabinet approval for the safe drinking water initiative.
Under this initiative, the departments have completed a review of the roles and responsibilities the various organizations and agencies involved in the NWT drinking water system. They have completed inspections and assessment of all water treatment facilities in all non-tax-based communities with the exception of those where facility upgrades are already underway. They are nearing completion of a good engineering practices manual to guide the design and construction of northern drinking water and sewer systems. They have created a data base of drinking water test results and made those results available online at the Public Works and Services web site.
Municipal and Community Affairs is providing five training and certification courses this year for community water system operators in the communities of Hay River, Fort Simpson, Norman Wells, Fort Smith and Yellowknife. Public Works and Services is providing onsite training and technical support to communities delivering water services. Health and Social Services is monitoring community drinking water quality test results to identify and address potential problems. Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development is working with the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment in updating and developing national water quality guidelines to protect the sources of our drinking water.
Pilot testing of membrane filtration technology has been undertaken to develop cost-effective treatment methods for water plants. Projects are currently in the planning and design stage for Rae-Edzo, Tsiigehtchic, Colville Lake and Fort Good Hope. All these efforts are enforcing a water supply system that is blessed with good quality water sources and a lack of agriculture pressure such as those that contribute to the problems in Ontario and Saskatchewan.
Recent media reports might lead you to believe there are problems with the NWT drinking water. This is not the case. The system is working. However, we cannot take the safety of our drinking water for granted. We all have a role to play, whether it is to protect the community water sources from contamination, providing effective treatment processes, or as local building owners who have a responsibility to clean their water storage tanks.
Significant improvements have been made to the NWT water system over the past few years and it is working effectively to provide safe drinking water to residents. Health and Social Services, MACA, Public Works and Services and RWED are continuing to look at the structure of the NWT drinking water system to identify areas that can be further strengthened. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause