Budget cuts, privatization, deregulation and incompetence all played a roll in the Walkerton tainted water scandal.

That was the conclusion of a special inquiry set up to look into the tragedy that claimed the lives of seven people in Walkerton, Ontario during the summer of 2000. More than 2,300 other people fell ill, and many continue to suffer from permanent organ damage as a result of exposure to the dangerous e. coli bacteria in the town’s drinking water.

Last month, the citizens of Walkerton finally learned more about the causes of the disaster when Justice Dennis O’Connor handed down his final report.

The 672-page document – based on months of investigation and courtroom testimony – places most of the blame for the tragedy squarely on the shoulders of Premier Mike Harris and his Conservative government.

Here is a summary of the inquiry’s major findings:

• The Ontario Tory government failed to put safeguards in place when water-testing was privatized in 1996. The government also ignored numerous warnings that hasty privatization could cost lives.
• Government cutbacks at the province’s environment ministry undermined the province’s ability to deal with safety concerns around the province, including problems at Walkerton’s water utility. 
• Proper chlorination of water would have prevented the tragedy.
• Up to 400 illnesses would have been prevented if Walkerton’s water manager, Stan Koebel, had promptly notified authorities that the water was contaminated.
• The local health unit was quick to respond to the crisis with a boil-water advisory, but should have made the alert more widespread.
• The town’s elected water officials didn’t properly respond to concerns about water quality that were expressed by the Ontario Environment Ministry in 1998.

After the release of O’Connor’s report, Premier Harris offered a belated apology to the people of Walkerton.

"I, as premier, must ultimately accept responsibility for any shortcomings of the government of Ontario," he told a nationally televised news conference in this western Ontario farming town.