'Vitally important' that Islanders have say in future water use, says P.E.I. environmental group

The Coalition for the Protection of P.E.I. Water is calling for another round of public consultation on water use.

When the province released its irrigation strategy two years ago, it mentioned the possibility of an independent, arm's-length body to rule on irrigation permit applications.

But the government confirmed Tuesday that no such body was ever established.

Catherine O'Brien, chair of the coalition, said it's "vitally important" Islanders have a say on how water is used and shared because it all comes from one source groundwater.

"We're very vulnerable," she said.

There's a lot of threats that we could be facing with climate change and so the more say we have on how our water is governed, the better. Catherine O'Brien

"And I think after Fiona, we've seen the damages that can happen and people are seeing in front of them, you know, shorelines eroding and flooding, possible saltwater intrusion is going to be happening.

"There's a lot of threats that we could be facing with climate change and so the more say we have on how our water is governed, the better."

The coalition told MLAs it wants the government to create anew group to do public consultation on other possible models.

O'Brien said any arm's-lengthbody should be transparent so that "we're not just going to be having somebody making rules that we don't understand and we don't know why those rules are being made and do they actually fit what we all need and what the environment needs?"

In an email statement, P.E.I.'s Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Change said it has already consulted widely on the Water Act and its supporting regulations.

"Government has been focused on the initial steps of implementing the Water Act to date," the email said. "These discussions will continue throughout the next steps of developing water management areas under the Water Act."