FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 2003-07-25

Partnership to Enhance Safety of Ontario's Drinking Water

OTTAWA - The Standards Council (SCC) and Canadian Association for Environmental Analytical Laboratories (CAEAL) announced today that they have entered into an agreement with the Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MOE) to build a more robust system to protect the safety of drinking water for all Ontarians.

The Walkerton tragedy, which saw the contamination of an Ontario municipal water system with a deadly strain of e-coli bacteria, called into question the safety of Ontario's drinking water. The provincial government established a public inquiry, headed by Ontario appeal court Justice Dennis O'Connor, to determine the causes of the outbreak and advise on how to prevent such incidents from happening in the future. The inquiry's report made several proposals calling for standards-related improvements, including mandatory accreditation for water testing laboratories.

In Canada, more than 350 labs are accredited by the SCC's Program for Accreditation of Laboratories - Canada (PALCAN). In Partnership with CAEAL, the SCC has established a rigorous program for the accreditation of environmental testing laboratories. In fact, on the topic of the SCC/CAEAL program, Justice O'Connor stated that he "was impressed by the thoroughness of the verification process and the capacity to identify areas for improvement at individual laboratories."

The agreement signed today, formalizes the relationship between the three parties regarding the delivery of laboratory accreditation services in Ontario - part of the new Safe Drinking Water Act. The Act, passed in December 2002, makes accreditation mandatory in order for labs to receive licensing.

"Our program is rigorous and has received international recognition," said Russ Calow, president of CAEAL. "Canadian laboratories have long been committed to the accreditation of environmental parameters. We look forward to working with the Ministry and the Standards Council on its implementation."

"Combining the strengths of the SCC and CAEAL in proficiency testing and quality management is an effective means of ensuring that the infrastructure to support healthy water resources is maintained," added Peter Clark, Executive Director of the SCC. "The province can continue to rely on the SCC/CAEAL program to satisfy the requirements of the Ontario Ministry of the Environment."

The Canadian Association for Environmental Analytical Laboratories is a not-for-profit association of public and private sector laboratories. A principal objective of the association is to promote and maintain a high level of assurance in analytical test data. To this end, CAEAL manages proficiency testing and site assessment programs that are tailored to meet the specific needs of environmental testing laboratories.

The Standards Council of Canada is a Crown corporation that promotes efficient and effective voluntary standardization in Canada. The SCC is involved in coordinating Canada's participation in the development of international standards and, as Canada's national standardization body, oversees the efforts of the National Standard System.

- 30 -