New Brunswick should be required to revisit its drinking water guidelines every time Health Canada issues new advice, a witness told a legislative committee on Thursday.
Timely reviews of guidelines for clean drinking water should be mandatory, committee hears
Savannah Awde · CBC News
· Posted: May 07, 2026 4:55 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hour ago
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A legislative committee reviewing clean-water laws in New Brunswick was told Thursday that keeping up with Health Canada advice about drinking-water testing should be required. (Graham Thompson/CBC)
Delays between new Health Canada science and updates to New Brunswick’s drinking water guidelines could expose people to health risks, a physicians’ group warned Thursday.
The province isn’t currently required to update its drinking-water testing and monitoring rules when the federal agency does, and Dr. Chris Arsenault said this leaves a gap.
“If we’re not updating to be in accordance with those guidelines on a reasonable timeline, New Brunswickers may be exposed to toxins that they shouldn’t be,” the Fredericton physician told reporters.
“Not updating to figure out if we should be following a new guideline is a huge hole.”
Arsenault urged a legislative committee reviewing clean-water laws to make it mandatory to review provincial drinking-water testing guidelines any time a new Health Canada guideline comes out.
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