Green Initiatives Advisory Committee

That the Committee Agenda dated April 24, 2024 be adopted as printed.

That the minutes of the February 28th, 2024 meeting be adopted as printed.

Whereas private water systems (e.g., wells) are not protected through legislated requirements under The Safe Drinking Water Act 2002 and The Clean Water Act 2006, but are more likely to contribute to cases of gastrointestinal illness than municipal systems; and Whereas the 2023 Ontario Auditor General’s value-for-money audit of Public Health Ontario (PHO) recommended that PHO, in conjunction with the Ontario Ministry of Health, begin the gradual discontinuance of free private drinking water testing; and Whereas, in Bradford West Gwillimbury, approximately 3200 households do not receive water from municipal systems, with many relying on a private drinking water system, including wells; and Whereas the Walkerton Inquiry Report Part II, concluded the privatization of laboratory testing of drinking water samples contributed directly to the E. coli outbreak in Walkerton, Ontario in May 2000; and Whereas all Ontarians deserve safe, clean water, and free well-water testing is a way to help ensure that residents on private wells continue to have barrier-free access to well water testing. Therefore be it resolved the Committee recommend Council call on the Province to not phase out free well-water testing as part of the proposed streamlining efforts of public health laboratory operations in the province; and THAT this resolution be circulated to the Hon. Sylvia Jones, Minister of Health; Hon. Lisa Thompson, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs; Hon. Andrea Khanjin, Minister

Whereas the current Ontario Regulation 391/21 defines the Industrial, Commercial and Institutional (IC&I) sector as ‘ineligible sources’ (with the exception of schools and not-for-profit homes for the aged) for the purposes of producer responsibility for recycling, and as such the producers are not responsible for collecting recycling from these locations including businesses, municipal buildings, places of worship and non-profit organizations; Whereas the County of Simcoe has collected recycling from IC&I properties as part of its residential recycling collection program to date; Whereas County Council made the decision to cease curbside recycling collection from IC&I properties effective as of January 1, 2026, and instead allow continued drop-off of recycling at the County’s waste management facilities; and Whereas this decision was taken despite County Council’s strong desire to continue to facilitate the greatest amount of recycling possible, expressly because of the consequences arising from provincial regulations; Therefore, the Committee recommends Town Council call upon the Hon. Andrea Khanjin, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, and our local MPP, to: 1. Amend Ontario Regulation 391/21 to include small IC&I locations (those generating similar quantities of waste as a residential unit) as eligible sources to ensure Producer Responsibility Organizations are required to service these locations as part of their residential collection contract; and 2. Ame

That the meeting is hereby adjourned at 7:40 pm.