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Double water taxation to stay on tap for awhile
Situation expected to last another year
The Gazette
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Pointe Claire Mayor Bill McMurchie says the current situation is unfair. (Gazette photo)
The double taxation on water for many West Island residents will probably continue for at least another year, a spokesperson for the municipal affairs minister said this week.
Louise Quintin, a spokesperson for Municipal Affairs Minister Nathalie Normandeau said elected officials have met “three or four times” to talk about how water should be managed on the island of Montreal, but the work is slow, and little progress has been made so far.
“They have agreed on a work schedule,” Quintin said. “The officials would like to talk about how each city on the island will be charged for water.”
The province’s Bill 22 governing the Montreal agglomeration, which will come into effect at the beginning of next year, stipulates that a working table be struck to discuss water management issues.
The mayors of the 15 demerged suburbs met with officials from the city of Montreal and the municipal affairs ministry on Tuesday. The officials have said they want to set up an independent body that would manage water issues on the island of Montreal.
Quintin said there is a consensus on setting up the municipal water board, but discussions on the subject will only start next spring.
Pointe Claire Mayor Bill McMurchie has said he wants a more fair way to charge for water.
“Right now, parts of the population are suffering from clear, evident double taxation,” McMurchie said.
“The citizens of Pointe Claire, and those cities that receive water from Pointe Claire pay every cent of what they use, because the water is metered. But those cities, through the agglomeration are also paying for meters to be installed in all of the city of Montreal’s commercial and industrial buildings.”
McMurchie said those cities are also sharing the huge cost of improving Montreal’s water filtration plants so they meet new provincial norms.
Beaconsfield, Kirkland, Baie d’Urfé, and parts of Dollard des Ormeaux and Ste. Anne de Bellevue all receive water from the Pointe Claire plant. Dorval has its own water filtration plant, so it’s in the same situation.
“It’s a complicated problem that will take a long time to address,” McMurchie said. “Montreal doesn’t complain about it, because it’s not a priority for them. It is a priority for us.”