Blue Summit calls on Government to protect water
November 30, 2009 at 1:20 AM
From left to right: Sallie Caufield, CUPE 500; Claude Genereux, CUPE National; Meera Karunananthan, Council of Canadians; Paul Moist, CUPE National; Maude Barlow, Council of Canadians; Walter Gretschman, CUPE 500
Representatives from Local 500 joined more than 300 participants from across the country and internationally, including a group of more than 80 CUPE delegates from every province at a two-day water summit held in Ottawa on November 27-29. A declaration, calling on all three levels of government to take action to protect public water services was adopted at the close of the summit.
The declaration states that Canada needs a national water policy "that recognizes water as a human right and a public trust; safeguards water resources from industrial abuse; and guarantees adequate funding for water services, watershed planning and management and the necessary science to protect water quantity and quality."
"Access to clean and safe drinking water for all citizens should be one of the top priorities for all governments," said Mike Davidson, President of CUPE Local 500. "It's past time for our governments to support public ownership of water, managed in the public interest."
The declaration was signed by a number of groups from across the country, with more signatures expected in the coming months. It calls on federal, provincial and municipal governments to:
Recognize the water rights of Aboriginal communities and work with First Nations to end the on-reserve water and sanitation crisis.
Ensure public ownership, operation and delivery of water and sanitation services through a federal water infrastructure fund.
Establish pan-Canadian enforceable drinking water standards.
Protect water from global market exploitation by excluding it from NAFTA and all future trade agreements.
Map and protect groundwater resources by declaring it a public trust.
Click here to read the entire declaration.
Click here to view event photos
