Lead in the water: the Legault government was negligent says the PLQ

François Legault's government has been negligent and liable to prosecution after partially abolishing a program to monitor water quality in schools, says Liberal MP Marwah Rizqy.

Three Quebec researchers slammed the door of the VisezEau project at school last February after Quebec abolished the water quality check, while some drinking troughs were contaminated with lead, the daily newspaper reported. The duty Thursday. The goal of this program is to encourage students to use drinking troughs and drop sugary drinks.

But after providing $ 1.5 million for this program, the government decided to abolish the water quality component last November. The data from the application of the regulations in force did not show any additional need to analyze water in Quebec schools, it was explained to researchers.

"There were already red flags. […] There is an article that came out this summer talking about the quality of water and the minister did not think proper to check, "said Liberal MP Marwah Rizqy. She was doing so with reference to an analysis by the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec, published in June, which revealed that the lead levels in the water of schools and daycares in Quebec could be high enough to affect the IQ of children.

"Government inaction is one thing, but here clearly it was irresponsible so yes there is a risk [of lawsuits against the government]," said the Liberal MP who is also a lawyer.

"It's about the government's troubled relationship with science," said Québec Solidarity MP Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois.