Environment minister says government did enough to warn about water quality at Parlee Beach

New Brunswick's environment minister says the government did enough to warn beachgoers about possible fecal contamination at Parlee Beach during the summer, but admits the advisory system "is not perfect."

Serge Rousselle said on CBC's political panel this week the government used the system that has been in place for years.

"We did have a system, which has been there, and it was telling people that, you know, like the weather was bad those days," he said.

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Rousselle added, however, that he isn't satisfied with the current system.

"I admit the system is not perfect, that's why we want to improve it," he said.

Canadian guidelines dictate a beach should be closed to swimmers if fecal bacteria levels reach a value above 70/100 ml of water on any day, until the next test shows values within acceptable limits.

Parlee exceeded those levels on Aug. 3 and was not tested again until Aug. 7. The level was above 70 again on Aug. 16 and the beach wasn't tested until Aug. 21.

That would be a total of 10 days during peak season at one of New Brunswick's iconic tourism destinations.

Brian Keirstead, the Progressive Conservative MLA for Albert, wouldn't say whether the beaches should have been closed, but thinks the advisory wasn't enough.

"I don't think that we advised the citizens that were at the beach those days properly because [I was] speaking to people that had been there with the sign up and it was pretty ambiguous," said Keirstead.

Green Party Leader David Coon laid the blame for the system at the feet of both the Gallant government and the previous PC governments.

"Government after government [has] failed to carry out the responsibilities. Somewhere along the line, the responsibility [to warn the public when the water is not safe] was taken away from the medical officer of health … and given to the Department of Tourism," which has an interest in promoting Parlee Beach, said Coon.

Conflict of interest alleged

Victor Boudreau, the province's health minister, has invested in the Parlee Beach area, hoping to build a 650-site campground there. Since his department is responsible for carrying out water tests, concerns have been raised about a possible conflict of interest as his investment could be hurt if the beach is closed.

New Democratic Party Leader Dominic Cardy is concerned about the possible conflict.

"Minister Boudreau has a very clear conflict of interest when it comes to talking about anything to do with Parlee Beach. He's making money off of the use of that beach," said Cardy.

People's Alliance Leader Kris Austin was less diplomatic in his remarks.

"There's no doubt in my mind, Mr. Boudreau, the last thing he wants is the people to really be aware of what is in the water in Parlee Beach," said Austin.

"The governments don't seem to care, or they have a vested interest, they willfully don't want to care about it."

Rousselle said he doesn't consider Boudreau's investment a conflict of interest, but contradicted this statement by alleging Boudreau would like to protect his investment further.

"If I were an investor in this area, I would like to make sure that the water is clean because my investment would be in consideration," said Rousselle.

"I don't see the conflict you're talking about."

A pause on development

Coon believes that a pause on development is needed until the government can determine what is going on in the water at Parlee Beach.

"I think the sensible thing [for] the environment minister to say [is] there will be no permits issued for any further development … in this area until we get to the bottom of the problem, put in place a plan to fix it, and actually get those water results down on a consistent basis," said Coon.

Rousselle said he can't just do that.

"With all due respect, this is a democracy. I don't get up [in] the morning and decide to refuse projects like that. We have laws to follow," said Rousselle.