WE MADE A SPLASH ON WORLD WATER DAY

Across Canada and around the world, people took action again this year to mark World Water Day. Celebrated annually on March 22, the day serves as an occasion to highlight local, national and global water justice issues. For World Water Day 2008, Council of Canadians chapters organized events to add their voice to the global movement to protect water as a shared public resource and as a human right. In Ottawa, the Council joined up with CUPE, Oxfam Canada, the Polaris Institute and other activists to march from the Human Rights Monument to Parliament Hill carrying a message of “Water for People, Not for Profit!” The march culminated with the delivery of a letter to John Baird, Minister of the Environment, outlining the coalition’s call for the recognition of the right to water, an end to water privatization, a ban on bulk water exports, and the government’s commitment to develop a comprehensive and updated national water policy.

The coalition also launched a new online action tool that allows the public to add their voice to the call for water justice. Visit www.righttowater.ca and with just a few clicks, you can send a message to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and to a member of Parliament calling on them to support the right to water.

Sonia Giovannina Vani

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Photo: 1) Council of Canadians’ activists joined with representatives from CUPE, Oxfam Canada, the Polaris Institute and concerned citizens for a rally on Parliament Hill in March to call on the government to protect water as a shared public resource and human right. Credit: Sonia Giovannina Vani. 2) Volunteers with OXFAM Canada sport some fun balloon hats at a public rally on Parliament Hill in March for World Water Day. Credit: Sonia Giovannina Vani

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updated July 17, 2008