- HAMILTON, ONT. - Two
employees
of a Hamilton laboratory which tests water and soil have been arrested
and face fraud charges.
-
- Police raided the laboratory on Tuesday, after
allegations
tests were being forged. Officials say the labs tested drinking water for
at least three Ontario municipalities.
-
- Fine Analysis Laboratories tests water, soil and
pharmaceuticals
for companies in Canada and the United States Hamilton Police Chief Tom
Marler says two people have been arrested following allegations those tests
were not properly performed.
-
- "The certificates of analysis were either altered
or they were filled out with the tests not being completed," he
said.
-
- But Marler wouldn't say what the nature of those tests
were. And he declined to say whether public health is at risk. He left
that question to officials from the Ontario Ministry of the Environment
and Health Canada, and those officials declined the invitation to attend
the news conference.
-
- Liberal MPP Dominic Agostino says that's serious cause
for concern. "This is too important for them to be hiding somewhere
and not coming down forward and answering the question the public have
here."
-
- The Sierra Club's Maureen Reilly says the absence of
the two government agencies is indicative of a greater problem. "My
biggest concern is that the Ontario government doesn't get it, hasn't
learned
the lessons of Walkerton, that they need to act when they see a
problem."
-
- A spokesperson for the Ministry of the Environment says
there's no reason to believe public health is at risk. But critics such
as Reilly and Agostino say it's the government's responsibility to make
sure the people of Ontario have all the facts in cases like this.
-
- Written by CBC News Online staff
-
- http://cbc.ca
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