December 8, 2006

Dear activists,

On December 10, 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Since then December 10 has been observed around the world as International Human Rights Day.

The Government of Canada has shamefully opposed the right to water at the United Nations. Canada's continued opposition to the right to water is an international embarrassment and a disgrace. Our government must recognize that a 2004 Ipsos-Reid poll showed that 97% of Canadians support the right to water

On this coming Sunday December 10, the Council of Canadians strongly encourages all activists to indicate your support of the right to water by e-mailing the message below to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Liberal Party leader Stephane Dion, NDP leader Jack Layton, BQ leader Gilles Duceppe, Green Party leader Elizabeth May, and to your Member of Parliament.

The e-mail addresses of the party leaders are listed above our sample letter. You can find your Member of Parliament's contact information in the "Take Action" section of our website.

To read more about this issue please see Maude Barlow's "A UN Convention on the Right to Water - An Idea Whose Time Has Come".

In it Maude Barlow writes, "The fact that water is not now an acknowledged human right has allowed decision-making over water policy to shift from the UN and governments toward institutions and organizations that favour the private water companies and the commodification of water."

"A convention on the right to water would serve as a common, coherent body of rules for all nations and clarify that it is the role of the state to provide clean, affordable water to all of its citizens. Such a convention would also safeguard already accepted human rights and environmental principles."

The right to water is a critical issue and one deserving of our support and activist energies.