Regulatory Reform

“One anonymous scientist said, ‘Health should never be put in the hands of a department that is supposed to be looking after the producers' interests. Britain recognized that only after mad-cow disease.’ “Unfortunately recent regulatory reform efforts have concentrated more on the ‘paper burden’ or regulatory costs than the more fundamental flaw of governmental conflicts of interest.”

“The greatest coming challenge for political institutions -in Canada and elsewhere - will be to transform the very nature of democracy itself. Indeed, creating a new means for citizens to be involved in decision-making may be the only way to stem voter cynicism and the meaningless changing of political guards. “Edmund Burke reincarnated might then say: "I owe you not just my diligence, but decisions that are based both on my opinions and upon your properly - and scientifically - collected views. You are owed nothing less than a true, transparent and direct democracy ‘Cybergovernment of the people, by the people and for the people is here at last.’"

The "Big Questions" for any public inquiry into the Walkerton tragedy will be: 1. How did Walkerton's water get contaminated? 2. Once contaminated, could the tragedy have been avoided by either the Ontario government or Walkerton's water utility? 3. How can future disasters like this be averted? As these questions are answered, people should realize that governments which both own and regulate public utilities have a fatal conflict of interest.

Freer trade, not environmental treaties, key to saving forests was the article with which AIMS President Brian Lee Crowley signalled his return to the Halifax Chronicle-Herald as a columnist. Click here to read the text, which first appeared in the CHH on 16 February 2000.