It’s been one year since the Pallister government failed to alert residents of high lead levels in schoolyards in Point Douglas and other Winnipeg neighbourhood’s – and the government continues to fail residents by not providing better testing and a clean-up plan, said MLA for St. Boniface and Manitoba Liberal Party Leader, Dougald Lamont.
A study into serious lead contamination in schoolyards in Point Douglas and other neighbourhood’s was withheld by the NDP government from 2007-08. The Pallister government tabled the report in the house a year ago today, on October 24, 2017, but residents only learned of the story when it broke nearly a year later, on September 13, 2018.
“Both the NDP and PC governments are guilty of withholding soil test results. Both did nothing to let residents know what precautions to take to keep their families safe,” said Lamont.
Lamont said the PCs sound like a broken record singing the same “blame the NDP” tune, yet they offer no solution to the problem, and concerned residents are being left in the dark when it comes to dealing with high lead levels in their communities.
“The by-election is over, and there is no excuse for a communications blackout,” said Lamont. “The Pallister government should be going out of its way to educate residents on how to keep themselves safe. They must act now to clean up this mess, but it looks like they are doubling down on the failures of the NDP.”
Media Contact:
Craig Larkins
Director of Communications & Media Relations
Manitoba Liberal Caucus
(204) 771 – 2513