The Ford government is laying the ground for financialization and even eventual privatization of our public water systems.
In 2025, Doug Ford's Conservative government pushed through, without consultation, legislation that dramatically restructures our public drinking water and wastewater systems.
The Water and Wastewater Public Corporations Act by creating public corporations to control municipalities' water systems that can be governed by an ill-defined "agent" of the state may open the door for public-private partnerships in an essential domain.
Our access to clean, potable water and wastewater processing should be a clear, public concern and not subject to financialization or profit motives. Otherwise, we get closer to sliding down the slippery slope to water privatization.
Time and again, we have seen, especially when we look south of the border how the profit motive plus public water systems results in disaster: residents who can no longer afford water, cost cutting that negatively impacts water quality, and pollutes waterways.
We don't want any of that here in Ontario.
Sign this petition now to press Doug Ford and his Conservative government to repeal the Water and Wastewater Public Corporations Act and recentre fully public water systems.