Welcome to all Aqua viewers!
You have just seen a moving and visually stunning exhibit (or heard about us from One Drop) about the water crisis and its impacts on people and the environment. We hope you are now ready to take action.
The Council of Canadians is a public advocacy organization that campaigns for social and environmental justice.
Our website provides additional information on Canadian and global water struggles and connects you with campaigns aimed at protecting our water resources and promoting access to clean drinking water and sanitation through strong public services as a fundamental human right.
Support the campaign for water as a human right
Water must be recognized as a human right at every level of government. This will ensure that all people living in Canada, without discrimination, are legally entitled to safe, clean drinking water and water for sanitation in sufficient quantities, and that inequalities in access are addressed immediately. The recognition of water as a human right will give communities lacking access to clean drinking water a legal tool to exercise this right. It will also provide legal recourse if a water source is damaged by industrial activities.
The recognition of water as a human right in international law would allow the United Nations to monitor the progress of states in realizing the right to water and to hold governments accountable. The Canadian government has consistently opposed the recognition of water as a human right at key UN meetings.
To find out how you can support this campaign, go here.
Join the Blue Communities Project and become a community water activist
We invite you to become a part of the local and global movement for water security and justice by joining the Blue Communities Project – a joint initiative that furthers the work of local Water Watch coalitions across the country.
Learn what you can do as a community activist, public sector worker or municipal councillor to help protect the water commons – our shared water resources – in the face of increasing pressure to put water up for sale and privatize water services.
Take the Tap Water Pledge to support publicly-owned and delivered water by drinking tap water instead of bottled water.
Find out more here.
Stop the destruction of lakes by mining companies
Lakes that would normally be protected as fish habitat by the Fisheries Act are now being redefined as “tailings impoundment areas” according to a 2002 “schedule” added to the Metal Mining Effluent Regulations of the Act. Once added to Schedule 2, healthy freshwater lakes lose all protection and become dump sites for mining waste. Mining companies have the go-ahead to dump their tailings into perfectly healthy bodies of water, such as Sandy Pond in Newfoundland and Fish Lake in British Columbia. Twelve pristine water bodies are currently slated for destruction under this law.
To find out what you can do to stop this deplorable practice, go here.
Demand a federal water policy
Water is vital to people’s health and livelihoods. In Canada, there is no national strategy to address urgent water issues and no federal leadership to conserve and protect our water. The Federal Water Policy is over 30 years old and badly outdated. Our freshwater faces crises including contamination, shortages and pressure to export water to the United States through pipelines and diversions.
The Council of Canadians’ water campaign is calling for a national water policy that protects Canada’s water from bulk exports and privatization, because:
- The free market doesn’t guarantee access to water;
- Bulk exports could open the floodgates to trade challenges;
- Canada’s water supply is limited;
- Public water is safer, cleaner and more affordable; and
- Water is essential for people and nature.
To find out more go here.
Support global water justice
The Blue Planet Project is an international civil society movement begun by The Council of Canadians to protect the world’s fresh water from the growing threats of trade and privatization.
We work with organizations and activists in both South and North, and are affiliated with international networks including Friends of the Earth International, Red Vida (the Americas Network on the Right to Water) and the People’s Health Movement.
We are currently working with partners world-wide on using a human rights framework to protect water for people and nature for generations to come. This includes working with local organizations and activists on grassroots struggles to protect democratic, community control of water, and building a movement to secure an international treaty on the Right to Water.
Find out more at: www.blueplanetproject.net.
Become a member
The Council of Canadians is a non-profit organization. In order to maintain our independence to speak out on the issues you believe in, we do not accept government or corporate funding. As a membership-based organization we rely on generous individuals like you to run our vital campaigns.
Join us now here.
Become a chapter activist
The Council of Canadians relies on a network of over 70 volunteer chapters from across Canada to promote our national campaigns, act as local watchdogs, and promote social and economic justice on a day-to-day basis.
Find out how you can join a chapter here.
