Today, Wayne Gates, NDP MPP for Niagara Falls, continued to press the Liberal government to protect the Great Lakes and Ontario water ways, and stop the dumping of raw sewage into the Niagara River.
“Last week, the International Joint Commission released its first assessment on the progress by both US and Canadian governments on the protection of our Great Lakes and rivers,” said Gates. “There certainly has been a lack of action by the premier to address the dumping of sewage into the Niagara River this past summer.” This week, a report commissioned by the International Joint Commission criticized the government for their lack of action on addressing sewage spills and monitoring of toxic chemicals in the Great Lakes.
“How can we eliminate or prevent toxic chemicals in the Niagara River, Lake Ontario or Lake Erie when this government won’t do the research to identify which chemicals are toxic?” asked Gates. “How does this government claim to be a leader on environmental protection, yet still allow slow progress?”
Gates’ question came as the Niagara River continues to struggle with sewage overflows from the city of Niagara Falls, NY. Gates said that people in his community are feeling the impact of years of Liberal neglect on pressing environmental issues.
“It took the minister of the Environment almost one full month to reply to two letters I sent concerning these serious sewage spills,” said Gates. “When he finally did answer, he simply said it was an American issue and seemed to deny that these dumps in the shared river in any way affected our side of the river.”
Audio https://www.dropbox.com/s/gwx6t3vyuoqtayk/Q6_Gates_12-04-17.mp3?dl=0
Video https://www.dropbox.com/s/ln5ncgai8vumv5z/Q6_Gates_12-04-17.mp4?dl=0
