Proposed Changes to the…

Proposed Changes to the Water and Wastewater Public Corporation (WWPC) Act, 2025:

1. Public Ownership of Shares
The City of Cambridge supports proposed changes to clarify that the shares are owned exclusively by a municipality, the province of Ontario, the Government of Canada or an authorized agent of any of them to ensure sustainability critical service delivery for Drinking water.

2. Transfer by-Laws (subsection 10(1.1)
A new subsection 10(1.1) prohibits the transfer of debentures, financial instruments, or agreements that have been entered into by the municipality for the purpose of long-term borrowing. This suggests that existing debt related to the water and wastewater system could remain the municipality’s responsibility. This will negatively impact the municipalities and face issues regarding their annual repayment limits, debt capacity. Municipalities will have to find an alternate source of revenue of increase property taxes for repayment of any existing debt related to water and wastewater systems. During the transition period, Municipalities may also defer some of the capital works for water and wastewater system to be funded from debt.