Doug Ford has opened the door to privatizing our water, history show how that can put public health at risk

Although he reinvented himself as a kingpin in the nursing home business, former Ontario premier Mike Harris used to be best known for the water contamination fiasco that killed seven people and sickened thousands more in Walkerton, ON.

That tragedy led to a dramatic decline in support for his government and was considered a key reason Harris resigned as premier in 2002.

Not surprisingly, the premiers who’ve followed Harris have steered clear of anything that smacks of weakening government surveillance of Ontario’s water systems.

Until now, that is.