The high cost of Common Sense
Make no mistake: The Mike Harris government's environmental policies contributed to the deaths in Walkerton.
Two paths converged in Walkerton: government downsizing and municipal reform. When they came into office in 1995, the Harris Conservatives vowed that their Common Sense Revolution would make government smaller and more efficient. In the Environment Ministry's case, this meant, among other things, slashing the ministry's budget by 40 per cent over five years, while taking away many of its responsibilities and eliminating much of its staff. To keep the workload for the survivors manageable, the Tories privatized much of the ministry, letting industry monitor standards once watched over by bureaucrats and selling off provincially owned labs that tested municipal water. The municipalities would, in future, hire private firms to do the testing, with the provincial government setting and monitoring overall standards.
Cutbacks were popular in Walkerton-Bruce area
At about the same time, the Tories decided to reorganize the responsibilities of local and provincial governments. Queen's Park would take over control of education; the municipalities would look after "hard services," including sewer and water.
But there are municipalities and municipalities. Toronto and Ottawa enjoy sophisticated governments and bureaucracies. Rural counties struggle to keep the roads plowed. As their responsibilities multiplied, poorer jurisdictions were tempted to fiddle, to raid one account to find money for another.
Globe and Mail, 30 May 2000