Evidence of meeting #83 for Transport, Infrastructure and Communities in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was utilities.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4:10 p.m.
Liberal
Gagan Sikand Liberal Mississauga—Streetsville, ON
Thank you.
I'm asking you as well, Ms. Grenier. You put in a dollar figure of $1 trillion.
4:10 p.m.
Liberal
Gagan Sikand Liberal Mississauga—Streetsville, ON
In the U.S., do they have programs or models? What have they done to start getting the lead out of the residences there?
4:10 p.m.
Executive Director, Ontario Water Works Association
I'm not entirely familiar with the programs in the U.S. The model is often different when you have a privately owned utility in the U.S. The restrictions with those funds are different from what they are in municipal jurisdictions in Canada.
4:10 p.m.
Liberal
4:10 p.m.
Liberal
Gagan Sikand Liberal Mississauga—Streetsville, ON
Graham, I have a quick question for you. You were saying that once the actual physical lead pipe is removed, the corrosive parts still lead to lead in the water.
November 23rd, 2017 / 4:10 p.m.
Prof. Graham Gagnon
Yes.
4:10 p.m.
Liberal
Gagan Sikand Liberal Mississauga—Streetsville, ON
Okay. It doesn't get eliminated fully when the lead pipe is gone. Basically, is it the parts that leach the lead in there? If we got rid of those parts, would it be 100% removed?
4:10 p.m.
Prof. Graham Gagnon
Yes, and I want to be clear. If you fully remove the lead service line, not partially remove it—
4:10 p.m.
Prof. Graham Gagnon
If you fully remove it, you're in a much better spot. We've seen homes that have returned to much lower concentrations, with 80% removal of lead within three months. You can significantly lower your lead burden by fully removing the lead line.
4:10 p.m.
Liberal
Gagan Sikand Liberal Mississauga—Streetsville, ON
To fully eliminate it, then, you'd have to get rid of the smaller pieces that are left.
4:10 p.m.
Prof. Graham Gagnon
Well, what we talked about previously are the other components inside the home. There might be lead solder or there might be some kind of interesting fixture there, but to have a significant impact on the amount of lead, you have to fully remove the lead pipe.
4:10 p.m.
Liberal
Gagan Sikand Liberal Mississauga—Streetsville, ON
Thank you.
I'll give whatever remaining time I have to Mr. Hardie.
4:10 p.m.
Liberal
Ken Hardie Liberal Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC
Thank you for that.
Are the personal impacts different according to the age of the person? You're nodding, Michèle. Perhaps you can answer.
4:10 p.m.
Executive Director, Ontario Water Works Association
Thank you.
Children are most at risk because they have the highest metabolic rate per unit mass of body weight, and the neurological effects are more pronounced on younger individuals than they are on older individuals.
4:10 p.m.
Liberal
Ken Hardie Liberal Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC
Is this a cumulative thing, so that the more exposure there is over time, the worse the situation is?
4:10 p.m.
Prof. Graham Gagnon
Yes.
4:10 p.m.
Liberal
Ken Hardie Liberal Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC
Speaking of time, you mentioned that lead solder was.... We understood from earlier discussions that they stopped using lead in houses back in the late 1920s. No?
4:10 p.m.
Prof. Graham Gagnon
No.
