Ontario: New Leader in Clean Water?

Ontario's Premier Dalton McGuinty

Ontario is gearing up to be a leader in clean water, or so says its premier, Dalton McGuinty.

At last week’s Liberal party Heritage dinner, McGuinty revealed a few of the major points of the upcoming throne speech (March 8), hinting about a five-year job plan with a major focus on water.

“In the next 20 years, worldwide demand for water will be 40 per cent greater than supply. That means a lot of places are going to need new ways to use less water and purify polluted water,” said McGuinty. “Well, for several years now, Ontario has been quietly growing one of the biggest clean water industries in North America.”

“The Conference Board of Canada estimates the global market for water technology at over $450 billion with annual growth of up to 15 per cent,” he said. “So, why wouldn’t we organize ourselves to grab an even bigger share of that market for Ontario? We’re doing exactly that for clean energy so, why not for clean water?”

McGuinty’s words (see an edited version of his speech here) echoed ideas we heard at OCETA‘s water stakeholder meeting back in November. The Centre is set to release a report on the Ontario Clean Water Initiative this March, and it sounds like the province is starting to take these ideas seriously. Maybe we’ll see a “Blue Water” Act to follow up the Green Energy and Economy Act?