Proposed Wastewater Systems Effluent Regulations

Ministry of Finance As the global economy continues its fragile recovery from the worst recession since the Second World War, our Government is focused squarely on the economy and jobs. Canada was better prepared for and has better responded to the recent economic turmoil, compared to our peers. Prior to the onset of the global recession, we introduced significant personal and business tax relief, paid down nearly 40 billion in debt, made key investments to improve the countrys infrastructure, and much more. We built on our strong economic record with the introduction of a timely and effective response to the global recession, Canadas Economic Action Plan. The Plan was a 62-billion shot in the arm when our country needed it the most. Taxes were lowered; retraining was expanded for the unemployed; more than 23,000 job-creating infrastructure projects were launched; major investments were made in science and technology; vital support was extended to struggling sectors of the economy; extraordinary steps were taken to improve access to financing; and much more. Canadas Economic Action Plan worked, as Canada has weathered the global economic storm better than most in the industrialized world. The Canadian economy has seen five consecutive quarters of growth, more than 400,000 new jobs have been created in the last year and a half, and our financial system has been ranked the soundest in the world for the third straight year. Additionally, both the International Monetary Fund and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development continue to project that Canada will have the strongest average growth of the G-7 in the years ahead. Going forward,d the Government will stay on this course and fully implement the initial phase of the Plan. While Canada is in a relatively strong position compared to our peers, theres more to do. As the economy continues to stabilize, we enter into the phase of Canadas Economic Action Plan. We are committed to helping secure our economic recovery by ensuring our economic polices reflect the values and principles of hardworking Canadians, such as living within our means, reducing waste and duplication, and keeping taxes low to help create job and sustain growth. We invested a lot of money to stimulate the economy and help create jobs during the worst of the recession when we needed it most. But running deficits cannot become a permanent solution to a temporary problem. We must balance the budget to secure our recovery, and our Government is determined to see that happen. That means staying steadfast in our plan to return to balanced budgets in the medium term by ending extraordinary stimulus spending as the economy recovers; limiting new government spending; restraining spending through targeted measures; and continuing comprehensive reviews of spending to eliminate waste and inefficiencies. As we prepare the upcoming federal budget, we have been clear that the Government will not make significant new spending commitments that would trigger bigger deficits and higher taxes. We cannot afford to risk the economic recovery and the future of our children and grandchildren by running deficits over the longer term. Ministry of Environment Cleaning up our nations wastewater is a priority for our government. Currently, over 150 billion litres of untreated wastewater and sewage is deposited directly into our waterways every year. This is an environmental, human health and economic issue, and must be addressed. The Government, has worked with the provinces and engaged municipalities and others to propose the countrys first national standards for wastewater. In 2010, Environment Canada developed wastewater regulations to do its part in implementing the Canadian Council of Minister of the Environment Strategy for managing wastewater effluent. I understand the challenges of cleaning up the nations wastewater, but consider it an investment that we need to make. We cannot continue to dump untreated and under-treated sewage into our waterways. The proposed wastewater regulations establish clear baseline standards for secondary treatment, or equivalent, of sewage prior to discharge. Over 75 percent of wastewater systems are currently expected to meet these baseline standards in the proposed regulations. It is estimated that it would cost in the range of 10 billion to 13 billion over 30 years to implement the proposed regulations and clean up our nations wastewater. However, the benefits of the proposed regulations far exceed their cost - in fact, we have estimated the benefits to be three times the cost. The Government also provides funding for municipalities that can be used to hep finance these initiatives. Funding is available through the Gas Tax Fund, which has been doubled to 2 billion per year. This is an ongoing funding program that municipalities can use for wastewater upgrades. Since 2005, through its various infrastructure funds, the Government has spent our committed 3.2 billion toward wastewater and water infrastructure, which is in addition to future funding available though the Gas Tax Fund.