Simultaneous interpretation will be available in some workshops.
Visit the following links for resources and information related to workshop topics:
-
Organizing for a Blue Community
Learn how to promote and maintain public control over water resources and services in communities by promoting water as a human right, bottled water bans and resisting privatization of water services and corporate takeover of water resources at the municipal level.
-
Women and water
Throughout the world, women are intrinsically linked to water resources because of their roles and responsibilities in using and managing water. The privatization of water in Canada and around the world has impacts on women’s equality. In this workshop, learn about the economic, social and health impacts of water privatization on women.
-
Privatization of water and sanitation services
Ninety per cent of water services and infrastructure are publicly owned and operated. But over the past decade there has been a push by the federal government to force public private partnerships (P3s) onto cash-strapped municipalities and First Nations communities lacking access to adequate services. How is the privatization agenda being promoted in Canada? What are the lessons to be learned from experiences with privatization in municipalities like Hamilton and Moncton? What are the strategies to be adopted from municipalities like Toronto and Montreal that have managed to keep water in public hands?
-
Right to Water (including a focus on FN treaty rights)
For the past 15 years a global water justice movement comprised of labour activists, small scale farmers, social justice advocates and environmental activists has been campaigning to have water recognized as a human right. Canada has been a key opponent at several UN meetings thwarting efforts to entrench the right to water in international law. What does it mean to have water recognized as a human right in international law? What would this mean in Canada where levels of access to safe, clean drinking water remain appalling in many Indigenous communities? What are the lessons to be learned from countries like Uruguay that have adopted the right to water domestically?
-
Going bottled-water free in public spaces
Canada is a net exporter of bottled water. While a third of our municipalities face shortages, a quarter of bottled water is taken from municipal sources. While ground water has not been mapped in Canada leaving our communities unaware of the availability of fresh water resources, bottled water companies like Nestle package Canadian ground water for export markets around the work. Communities like Wellington have been fighting water takings in their community for years. As a result, socially and environmentally conscious Canadians have begun rejecting bottled water. In the past two years, more than 50 municipalities in Canada have passed resolutions to restrict the sale and purchase of bottled water in public facilities. Hospitals, school boards and universities are also taking a stand against bottled water. Learn about water takings in Canada and struggles against bottled water companies. Find out how you can run a campaign to have bottled water banned in your community or workplace.
-
First Nations and water issues
Although the majority of Canadians enjoy one of the best public drinking water systems in the world, Canada has failed to provide safe clean drinking water in many Indigenous communities. As a result, recent statistics from Manitoba show that the H1N1 infection level among the province’s First Nations populations is 20 times the rate among the general population. In addition, many First Nations communities are downstream from the worst industrial polluters in Canada including the tar sands and Canada’s chemical valley, Sarnia Ontario. How have Indigenous communities in Canada suffered from Environmental racism? How have they resisted and how can their struggles be supported in mainstream environmental campaigns?
-
The Canadian water crisis
Canada has no national policy to address urgent water issues and no federal leadership to conserve and protect our water. Canada’s federal water policy is over 30 years old and badly outdated. In the meantime, the Conservative government is gutting existing federal protections of fresh water in the name of economic growth. How has this legislative vacuum allowed for corporations to benefit from unsustainable access to water supplies and poor regulation of industrial pollution? What are the pressing water issues in Canada and what would a national strategy to address look like?
-
Water regulations and standards
Canada does not have national enforceable drinking water standards or sewage treatment standards. Canadian municipalities arecharged with providing high quality drinking water while having to deal with increasing source water contamination. This workshop will address questions around water treatments and additives such as fluoride, industrial and sewage effluents, pharmaceuticals, hormones and other contaminants in drinking water with a focus on what needs to change in Canada.
-
Water and mining
Extractive industries like the Alberta tar sands and the uranium mining industry are notorious for contaminating water and disregarding Indigenous land rights and impacts on human health. In addition, the Canadian government is allowing metal mining corporations to dump toxic waste directly into healthy bodies of fresh water through a loophole in the Metal Mining Effluent Regulation of the Fisheries Act called “schedule 2.” There are also many struggles around the world against the activities of Canadian mining companies abroad. This workshop will give an overview of the situation and explore potential solutions.
-
Trade and water
Since the 1980s neoliberal policies and aggressive trade regimes have affected the ability of communities to protect fresh water resources. As the U.S. deals with growing water scarcity, Canada faces increasing pressure to export water in bulk. In addition, trade regimes like NAFTA protect the interests of investors and prevent governments from restricting their exploitation of water resources.
Furthermore, 60% of our economy is directly linked to water. Much of this water is virtually traded, primarily to the U.S. through water-intensive products such as petroleum, car parts etc. This workshop will explore the impacts of trade on water and discuss the importance of green economic models that allow communities to live within their watersheds and political strategies to strengthen public control over water resources.
-
Green jobs and green infrastructure
In Montreal alone, 47% of municipal water is lost through leaky pipes and many Canadian cities like Victoria dump raw sewage into waterways. Green jobs include those that involve conservation and source protection through work such as separating storm sewers and repairing leaky pipes. Water conservation and protection strategies must include investments in green infrastructure for Canadian water treatment and distribution systems. Recognition of the importance of existing green jobs and creation of new ones is an important part of a strategy to protect public water.
-
Public public partnerships
Public public partnerships or PUPs are arrangements that allow for public sector water operators, and/or First Nations water operators, to collaborate with other such operators in order to build capacity and share expertise. They allow for gaps in capacity and resources to be addressed without the high cost and loss of control that comes with private sector involvement. Find out about how PUPs are helping communities meet their needs for safe clean drinking water while allowing them to maintain public control and ownership of infrastructure and services.
-
Water conservation
In the name of water conservation, governments often resort to market environmentalism which can result in the loss of public control over water resources in favour of market-based solutions and may not actually result in concrete reduction of water use. This workshop will examine the different strategies employed to promote water conservation and address shortages around the world. Find out what works and what doesn't and how strategies like time of use metering impact some groups in society more than others. What are better tools for conservation?
-
Climate change and water
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Canada is experiencing reduced surface water levels, decreasing glaciers and lower levels of groundwater as a direct result of climate change. This workshop will explore how climate change is contributing to water shortages in Canada and the necessary strategies to mitigate the impacts.
