Victory in Whistler will inspire communities across Canada, says Council

Whistler’s decision this week to relinquish the proposal to privatize the community’s wastewater treatment plant is good news for all Canadians, says the Council of Canadians.

When the city council of Whistler entertained the idea of resorting to a private-public-partnership for a wastewater treatment plant upgrade the Council of Canadians joined forces with local unions and community groups to form the Whistler Water Watch community coalition. Together they exposed the city council’s intentions and managed to collect 1,848 ballots - double the required amount to force the issue to referendum. The overwhelming majority of the people who signed the ballot were in favour of keeping the plant in public hands. Earlier this week, the municipal government acquiesced to the pressure exerted by the Council of Canadians and its allies, and decided to scrap the P3 plan.

“This victory shows that citizens can make a difference in protecting public resources in Canada,” says Carleen Pickard, the Council of Canadians’ regional organizer for British Columbia. “As municipalities across Canada turn to the private sector for water treatment and distribution, Canadians must urge our governments to recognize water as a public trust.”

The Council of Canadians is calling for a national water policy that will prevent municipalities from privatizing water through partnerships with private corporations. Until then, the victory in Whistler will serve as an inspiration to communities across Canada fighting to prevent water privatization at the municipal level.

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For more information, please contact:
Carleen Pickard, BC-Yukon Regional Organizer: Tel.: (604) 688-8846 or Cell: (604) 340-2455; Email: .