Canada report

By JIM FOX

© St. Petersburg Times,
published July 29, 2001

Ontario group wants ensured water safety

The Ontario Medical Association wants better standards for ensuring safe drinking water after the deaths of seven people.

The fragmented water regulation and delivery services should be replaced by an independent water agency, said Dr. Albert Schumacher of the association.

He was speaking at a public inquiry into the E. coli bacteria contamination of Walkerton, Ontario, water that killed seven people and left thousands sick a year ago.

"We believe there should be a public authority responsible for provision of safe water and we believe it should have a single focus so that it doesn't have a complicated agenda that takes away from its mandate," he said.

There was earlier testimony about problems with water treatment equipment and how workers tried to treat the bad water and didn't tell health authorities or the public.

The Ontario government was also blamed for cutbacks in money and staff in environmental areas, something Premier Mike Harris has denied as a cause of the problem.

Meanwhile, North Battleford, Saskatchewan, residents have been told they no longer need to boil their drinking water.

Hundreds of people became ill after the parasite cryptosporidium invaded the municipal water system in April.

Alignment to the right

The first steps are being taken toward a political union between the Canadian Alliance and Conservative parties.

Members of the right-wing parties held their first meeting to discuss forming a united front against the governing Liberals.

The parties plan to address policies that divide them, such as the Alliance's commitment to a citizen-initiated referendum, social policy, linguistic issues and grass-roots democracy in general.

Alliance Member of Parliament Brian Pallister is urging Conservative Leader Joe Clark to support a joint policy convention.

News in brief

As several hundred protesters sat on the front steps of the British Columbia Legislature, the new government outlined plans for economic renewal and support for a bid to host the 2010 Winter Olympics. Rebuilding the province's sluggish economy is also a major goal of the Liberal government of Premier Gordon Campbell.

Police and family are resuming the hunt for a Toronto girl who vanished 16 years ago. Art Morin joined Toronto police to release a computer-enhanced photo of how his daughter, Nicole, would look today as a 24-year-old woman. Nicole was last seen July 30, 1985, when she left her apartment to meet a friend.

Facts and figures

The Canadian dollar made some gains to 65.09 U.S. cents while the U.S dollar returns $1.5363 Canadian before bank exchange fees.

The Bank of Canada key interest rate is 4.5 percent while the prime lending rate remains at 6 percent.

Stocks markets are lower, with the Toronto Stock Exchange 300 Index at 7,623 points while the Canadian Venture Exchange index is 3,080 points.

Lotto 6-49: (Wednesday) 6, 8, 13, 24, 34 and 46; bonus 12. (July 21) 1, 11, 22, 27, 33 and 49; bonus 10.

Regional briefs

An invasion of bees resulted in a police anti-sting operation in Sydney, Nova Scotia. They blocked off a downtown street after a swarm of up to 50,000 bees took up residence on a telephone pole. A beekeeper was brought in to help but the bees remained calm and dispersed after nightfall.

The Nova Scotia government will pass a bill within the next year to ban strikes by health-care workers, Premier John Hamm said. The legislation will have a dispute-resolution mechanism to be fair to both sides, he added. There have been major confrontations between the government and unionized nurses and health-care workers.

Security was tight but the baptism of singer Celine Dion's son in Montreal brought out thousands of fans and dozens of photographers. About 250 family and friends attended the baptism in the ornate Notre-Dame Basilica for 6-month-old Rene-Charles Angelil.

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