Water Act gets input from Islanders

The last of the first round of public consultations on P.E.I.'s new Water Act was held Monday night, and Environment Minister Robert Mitchell was pleased with the input.

"Like any process that you start like this, you hope that people come," said Mitchell.

"In fact that was not a worry at the end of it. They came out in full force and gave us their ideas and their concerns."

Since October a dozenmeetings have been held, which includes someextras added to accommodate all the people and groups interested in having their say.

• P.E.I. Water Act consultations begin

Anyone was able to present to the committee, including representatives from the pesticide and fertilizer industries.

That had some environmentalists worried, but the committee said it was important to keep the process open to everyone.

Water board suggested

Don Mazer, spokesman for the Coalition for the Protection of P.E.I. Water, said the Water Act should have a fundamental principle behind it.

"The core purpose of the Water Act should be the protection of the health of all aquatic ecosystems on P.E.I. for present and future generations," said Mazer.

The coalition would also like to see citizen participation continue into the future.

"The idea of a water board, not just to advise government, but to collaborate and participate with government, broad representation from different interests of the community," he said.

The public can still submit comments until Jan. 15.

A first draft of the act is expected in February. There will be another round of public consultations after the first draft is done, probably in the spring.