Green Party leader pushes for inquiry into major storms
David Coon says recent storms driven by climate change show need to be sure province is equipped to respond

cbc.ca
Feb. 7, 2017

The ice storm that darkened much of northeast New Brunswick for days has prompted Green Party Leader David Coon to push for a public inquiry into major storms, so the province can be well-equipped when another one hits.

"It's time really to say, 'OK, global warming-driven storms are here,'" said Coon, who is also the MLA for Fredericton South. "They're only going to continue to get worse."

Coon used two examples: the devastating ice storm this winter, which affected more than 200,000 NB Power customers, and post-tropical storm Arthur, which left 195,000 customers without power in July 2014.

"We've got to take deliberate decisions to really take positive action to protect New Brunswickers from these things," he said.

That means looking at local infrastructure, including roads and bridges, and how the province can deliver electricity so outages are fewer and not as long-lasting.

Coon said Premier Brian Gallant recently created a cabinet committee to guide New Brunswick in the face of climate change.

Now, Coon said, the legislative assembly should take up an inquiry and hold public hearings on New Brunswick's response to severe weather changes.

Coon applauded NB Power for its response to the outages after the ice storm.

"The ability has not diminished," he said. "It's increased. They've got better equipment, they've got more crews with the agreements with surrounding provinces.

"It's the weather that's changing, and we've got to come to grips with that now."

Coon also wants an inquiry into how New Brunswick deals with water quality.

Water testing at Parlee Beach no longer respects Canadian guidelines. Last summer, mistakes in following the province-made guidelines allowed the beach to say the water was OK for swimming when the quality was poor.

If Canadian water guidelines had been used, swimmers would have been warned on an additional three weeks that the water was poor because of high fecal bacteria counts.

"What is the chain of the command?" Coon asked. "How does it work? Who sees the results? Who decides how those samples are going to be taken? And where is the accountability there? Who makes the decisions then about what action is to be taken?"

"When it comes to public health, everyone needs to know that."

On Monday, Serge Rousselle, New Brunswick's environment minister, announced the government will update the water quality testing and rating system before the swimming season at Parlee Beach. Rousselle blamed a "breakage" in the system for the incorrect information posted for visitors last year.

"It just seems to be sliding all over the map in terms of what's being done to ensure that the health of swimmers in Shediac Bay...is protected," Coon said.