MPP Dawn Gallagher Murphy Champions Modernized Wastewater Solutions for Small and Rural Communities
November 21, 2025
TORONTO – Dawn Gallagher Murphy, MPP for Newmarket–Aurora, has brought forward a Private Member’s Motion calling on the Government of Ontario to continue adopting modernized measures to streamline the permissions for distributed, modular, and off-grid water and wastewater treatment facilities across Ontario’s small and rural communities.
The motion highlights the importance of advancing innovative wastewater technologies that can enable housing growth, attract new investment, and protect Ontario’s environment, particularly in communities where traditional infrastructure expansion is cost-prohibitive or geographically challenging.
“Small and rural municipalities often face significant challenges when it comes to expanding or upgrading wastewater infrastructure,” said MPP Dawn Gallagher Murphy. “By supporting modern, modular systems, we can help communities grow responsibly while ensuring clean water and a healthy environment for generations to come.”
These communal wastewater systems-also known as decentralized or clustered systems can provide flexible, scalable, and cost-effective solutions for residential, industrial, and mixed-use developments while maintaining high environmental standards.
QUICK FACTS
- Modular and decentralized wastewater systems can reduce upfront infrastructure costs and accelerate housing approvals.
- These systems are scalable, allowing communities to expand capacity as they grow.
- Supporting wastewater innovation aligns with Ontario’s Building Homes Faster Act and long-term environmental protection goals.
Community and Industry Support
“This initiative is critical for enabling housing and economic growth across York Region,” said Eric Jolliffe, Chairman York Region. “By modernizing the approval process for communal wastewater systems, we can give municipalities and developers more options to meet local needs efficiently and sustainably.”
“We commend MPP Gallagher Murphy’s leadership in advancing this important discussion,” said John Levie, Senior Vice President, Clearford Water Systems. “Ontario is home to proven modular and decentralized wastewater technologies, and this motion recognizes how those solutions can help communities grow while protecting water resources.”
“From a development standpoint, this type of policy modernization is exactly what Ontario needs,” said Richard Aubry, President, Redwood Properties. “Innovative wastewater systems are often the missing link that prevents housing projects in smaller municipalities from moving forward. This motion is an important step toward solving that.”
“This motion brings long-overdue attention to the reality that not all communities are connected to large municipal wastewater systems,” said Robert Baldwin, Chief Administrative Officer, Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority. “Promoting decentralized approaches can protect watersheds and ensure local resilience.”
Driving Growth Through Modern Infrastructure
Receiving unanimous consent in the Ontario Legislature on November 19, 2025, MPP Gallagher Murphy’s motion sends a clear and unified message of support for modernizing Ontario’s wastewater framework. It calls for continued collaboration between the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, and local governments—empowering municipalities to approve innovative, distributed, modular, and off-grid wastewater systems more efficiently and sustainably.
Watch the full debate from Queen’s Park on YouTube.