Poor water quality tests found at New Brunswick’s Parlee Beach have brought the sample gathering procedure to the forefront, including questions about why it’s a procedure handled by the Tourism Department rather than the Department of Health.
READ MORE: New Brunswick to improve water quality testing at Parlee Beach
When questioned on his department’s role in water quality testing for publicly used beaches such as Parlee, New Brunswick Health Minister Victor Boudreau shed light on a process that’s been in place for the past sixteen years.
“Public health does not have a direct oversight role in the process that’s been in place since 2001,” he explained. “Clearly there’s a problem there.
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“In 2016, errors were made.”
Opposition Health Critic Brian Macdonald dove into the issues during recent Standing Committee on Estimates and Fiscal Policy proceedings.
Macdonald said as minister of health, Boudreau’s job is to preserve the public health of the province and poor quality tests taken from Parlee, which didn’t result in a closure, show a failure in that task.
“The issue that we’re discovering with this minister is they haven’t followed the existing guidelines,” Macdonald said.
READ MORE: Beach goers want Parlee Beach to modify signs to better indicate water quality
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In light of the developments, Boudreau indicated a special committee has been formed which will review the guidelines and report recommendations to government on how water testing should be handled going forward.
“This is something that the committee is going to be looking at,” he said. “Does it belong with public health, does it belong with tourism, does it belong with environment, does it belong somewhere else?”
Macdonald, however, doesn’t think Parlee Beach should be looked at as an individual case and that improved standards should be adopted across the board.
“Whether the process is informal or not, the regional officer of health, responsible through the minister, through the premier, is responsible to make sure health standards are being met regardless of the framework at Parlee Beach.”
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