Letter to the Editor: Winnipeg Sun, October 15, 2013 Re: Infrastructure Ignored
October 15, 2013 at 9:20 AM
Throughout the summer, many citizens of Winnipeg had the unpleasant experience of “brown water”. Winnipeg’s water issues have continued into this fall when earlier this week, the City issued a boil water advisory for St. Vital. Thankfully, subsequent testing indicated that there were no harmful bacteria in the water. Winnipeg’s water is clean. Unfortunately many of the pipes are not.
The city has a state-of-the-art water treatment plant but many of the city’s pipes are in desperate need of replacement. Across the country, drinking water and waste water systems are in critical need of upgrading and repair, and our city is no different. CUPE has been calling on the City to improve this basic infrastructure so we can continue providing the best quality drinking water in the country. But rather than investing in critical infrastructure, our City’s leadership chose to cut business taxes and freeze property taxes for 14 years, starving the city of over a decade’s worth of important upgrades. While taxes may not be popular, they are necessary to ensure that we have the resources required to provide quality public services. This summer’s water crisis was an example of what happens when we ignore our infrastructure.
The overall state of our city’s infrastructure needs to be addressed, including our city’s water system. This city needs an operating and capital budget that will work for the citizens of Winnipeg.
Mike Davidson
President of CUPE Local 500
