Thanks to Catherine O’Brien for this revealing piece. Why did we go through the rigorous process to come up with a plan only to have it completely ignored by government? This is a disturbing trend with land and water.
Environment Minister Ignoring P.E.I. Water Act
by Catherine O’Brien
Thursday, November 20th, 2025
What does it mean when a government goes against its own recommendations?
As a requirement of the Water Act, an irrigation strategy was developed by the Department of Environment and released in 2022. It clearly states that assessments and permitting, including the determination if the regulations are being followed, would be done by an arms-length independent body.
It also states that: “The independent body will extend beyond irrigation. The department envisions a water authority which will take an all-encompassing view toward water management while factoring the needs of both people and aquatic life.”
Consultations are also supposed to take place before this governance body is created.
Change in policy
This past week we heard that Hon. Gilles Arsenault, the minister of Environment, Energy and Climate Action, has no intention of following his own government’s recommendations. We at the Coalition for the Protection of P.E.I. Water are amazed by the minister’s statement that we don’t need water governance, and that talking to farmers is enough.
The minister seems to ignore guiding values in the Water Act that water is a common good and a public trust. We are all stakeholders when it comes to water and should be involved in its protection and decisions about its use.
When and how did this change in policy take place? Did we have any consultations? Were there amendments made to the existing irrigation strategy? Perhaps the minister could explain how this change came about.
Building boom in P.E.I.
Meanwhile, 70 new applications are pending for water withdrawal permits. We also know that the Department of Environment has had to hire more people to help with site assessments for new developments because of the building boom that is happening on our Island.
Past practices have also shown us that, despite robust regulations, ministers may simply waive the regulations. (Some will recall the Dunk River water extractions that were over the stated limits, yet were allowed to go ahead, thus endangering the aquatic life in the river). Most recently we witnessed that overreach with the approval of wetland infilling for a golf course in Summerside.
Stakeholders across the Island supported the establishment of a water governance body, and we thought government had listened.
Public consultations
Throughout the Water Act consultations, the Coalition for the Protection of P.E.I. Water and other groups made presentations on the benefit of water governance, which led to the inclusion of a governance body, which is clearly stated in the irrigation strategy.
Just last year, the Coalition for the Protection of P.E.I. Water met with the standing committee on natural resources and environmental sustainability on the subject of water governance because we had been waiting so long with no action on this file. There was unanimous support from the standing committee for consultations to begin on water governance.
Why are we now writing letters to ask for something that was already established in government policy?
Is there anything else within our current policies that is being circumvented or ignored?
Catherine O’Brien is chair of the Coalition for the Protection of P.E.I. Water
