N.B. may switch to national water-safety guidelines for Parlee Beach

New Brunswick's environment minister says national water-safety guidelines could be used at Parlee Beach and Murray Beach this summer.

Serge Rousselle says a new testing and reporting system will be in effect for the 2017 season, and it could use the national standards that beach officials have been ignoring.

"By next season we'll have a different system," Rousselle said during a CBC New Brunswick political panel recorded on Thursday.

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"It can be the federal system. A lot of people seem to agree that it should be that one."

If the national guidelines had been applied toParleein 2016, the beach would have been closed for 10 days last summer to protect public health.

Rousselle also suggested that the testing process will be moved from the Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture, which has overseen it for two decades, to the Department of Health.

Provincial steering group

Mistakes in Tourism's testing process led to water not being rated as poor on 17 days last summer when it should have been.

A steering group within Rousselle's department is now working on changing the testing standards, but the minister hinted that he already has a preference.

"You can think that one of the recommendations will maybe be to change that," by taking it away from Tourism, he said.

"These people are working hard right now. I'm not saying I don't have my personal opinion. What I'm saying is I want these people to do their jobs and by next summer we'll have an improved system."

The province acknowledged earlier this month that there were mistakes in the testing process last year thatbacterial levels were averaged instead of the worst one being used to determine the rating.

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The testing system, unique to Parlee Beach and Murray Beach, dates back to 2001, when it was moved under the Tourism Department, which has a mandate to promote New Brunswick as a destination.

Other beaches are tested by the public health branch of the Department of Health.

Call for public inquiry

Opposition parties on the panel Thursday demanded the Liberals call a public inquiry on why the testing procedures were not followed.

The Progressive Conservatives, Greens, NDP and People's Alliance all made the demand.

"This has spanned five governments Liberal, Conservative, Liberal, Conservative and Liberal again and we're back at the very start," Green leader David Coon said.

Some residents near the beach have made the same demand, but Rousselle rejected an inquiry again on Thursday.

"We are already working on solutions, so as we speak now, we feel that a public inquiry is not necessary," he said. "A public inquiry would make us go back and not focus on solutions to move forward."

When Rousselle pointed out that the system had existed under previous PC governments, PC health critic Brian Macdonald said, "Let's go back and look at that too. Let's put it all out in the open."

Rousselle promised a clear line of authority for reporting test results, including making them public.

He wasn't as specificabout when the Liberals would keep a 2014 election promise to make the office of the chief medical officer of health an arm's-length operation independent from government.

"I don't have an announcement on that for today," Rousselle said.