Keep Water Public Coalition: Conservative Government’s Bill 60 Turns Water Into a Business and Threatens Public Health

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With the Ford Conservatives expected to pass Bill 60, the Keep Water Public coalition warns the legislation risks making water less affordable and less safe, eroding public-health protections and allowing corporate-control to raise water rates.

Keep Water Public is a campaign by The Council of Canadians, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE), ACORN Ontario, Ontario Nature, and CUPE Ontario to protect the safety and affordability of public water in the province. Taken together, Bills 60, 56 and 68 represent the most significant dismantling of water-protection measures since the Walkerton tragedy when seven people died and more than 2,000 became ill from E. coli-contaminated drinking water.

“Ontario learned the consequences of deregulation and privatization the hard way,” said Dru Jay, Executive Director of the Council of Canadians. “When oversight is weakened, people get sick, ecosystems are damaged, and communities pay the price. These bills put profit and political convenience ahead of public safety. The consequences could be catastrophic.”

Bill 60: Privatized Water

If passed, Bill 60 will:

• Hand publicly owned water systems to private corporations that will put shareholder returns and profit ahead of public safety
• Reduce transparency and accountability by shifting authority from democratically elected municipal councils to unelected boards
• Allow corporations to raise household water rates with few checks or public oversight
• Erode the public ownership model that has kept water in Ontario safe, affordable, and accountable for decades

Bills 56 and 68: A Coordinated Attack on Clean, Safe Water

The coalition warns that Bill 60 is only one piece of a broader legislative plan that undermines water safety at multiple levels.

Bill 56, passed after the government curtailed debate, weakens key protections created by the Clean Water Act following the Walkerton tragedy. The new law makes it harder for local conservation authorities, scientists, and community representatives to shape source-water protection plans, the first line of defence against contamination. It also centralizes power at Queen’s Park, limiting the ability of municipalities to respond to local conditions and threats.

Bill 68, ordered for a second reading, will collapse 36 Conservation Authorities into just seven, stripping away local expertise and hollowing out watershed planning and environmental monitoring across the province.

Together, these bills remove oversight, reduce local input, and increase the risk of contamination, all while paving the way for higher household costs and corporate control.

Communities Will Pay the Price

“Privatization doesn’t save money — it shifts costs onto low-income families and channels public dollars into corporate pockets,” said Alejandra Ruiz Vargas, president of ACORN Canada. “Water is a human right, not a revenue stream.”

“Ontario’s public water system is the cornerstone of public health — and these bills dismantle the very protections that keep our communities safe,” said Dr. Samantha Green, president-elect of CAPE. “By undermining source-water protection and weakening oversight, we’re risking another Walkerton at a time when climate change is already amplifying threats to water quality. As physicians, we see firsthand how water safety translates into illness. Safe, publicly run water is essential for the health of Ontarians.”

“Public oversight is fundamental for public safety and environmental protections. Our Conservation Authorities are Ontario’s watershed experts that protect our communities from flooding and water quality risks,” said Tony Morris, Conservation Policy and Campaigns Director of Ontario Nature. “Environmental protections are not red tape, but essential safeguards for a healthy society.”

A Call to Action

The Keep Water Public coalition is calling for:

• A halt to the passage of Bill 60
• Restoration of the Clean Water Act protections weakened under Bill 56
• A stop to plans to dismantle Conservation Authorities under Bill 68

Until then, the coalition urges Ontarians to visit www.KeepWaterPublic.ca to send a clear message to the Ford government that water must remain a safe, public, and accountable service.

“Ontarians care deeply about our water as a public service and a human right. We are going to keep mobilizing and fighting to protect it,” said Fred Hahn, president of CUPE Ontario. “Walkerton was supposed to be a turning point. We cannot allow Ontario to slide back to a system where cuts, deregulation, and privatization put people’s lives at risk.”

About Keep Water Public

Keep Water Public is a coalition of community, environmental, and labour organizations committed to protecting Ontario’s drinking water systems from deregulation, cuts, and privatization. The coalition advocates for strong, transparent public oversight and investment in water infrastructure that prioritizes public health, environmental protection, and affordability.

:am/COPE491