SECTIONS

World Water Day 2010

March 22 is World Water Day, and to mark this day Council of Canadians chapters and allies have organized activities across the country to promote water as a public resource and a human right.

Last year, we celebrated a decade of community action against water privatization at the Blue Summit in honour of the launch of the Water Watch Coalition by the Council of Canadians, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA). To hear rabble podcasts of the Blue Summit, please visit canadians.org/bluesummit.

We also launched “The Blue Communities Project, and have been speaking to community leaders  about resisting public-private partnerships, promoting water as human right at the local level, and baning bottled water in public spaces. For more information, visit canadians.org/bluecommunitiesproject.

This past year, we’ve had a number of victories including preventing a landfill from being built atop the Alliston Aquifer in Simcoe County. For more information on the Site 41 victory, visit canadians.org/site41.

World Water Day 2010

This year, the Council of Canadians is actively involved in battles against lakes being turned into dumpsites for mining waste, the privatization and corporatization of water services in Canada and around the world and the commodification of water through water markets, bottled water, and industrial abuses of water resources like the tar sands. We are fighting for a national water policy that recognizes water as a human right and a public trust.

Click here to see events in your community.

Council of Canadians' photostream on Flickr:
 

Here are some of the ways you can get involved:

Blue Communities Project
canadians.org/bluecommunitiesproject

1. Set up a Water Watch Committee
   Water Watch Committees are the first line of defence against water privatization. Click here to find out how to set up a Water Watch Committee. Have a launch party for your Watch Watch Committee on World Water Day and let the local media know.  
2. Use the tips and tools in the Blue Communities Guide
   The guide is a useful resource to help you call on your local government to:
   • adopt a declaration on the right to water.
   • fight the privatization of water and wastewater services.
   • stop the sale and purchase of bottled water.

Unbottle it!
unbottleit.ca
While calling for municipal and school board bottled water bans, you can also ask local businesses, festivals, churches and other community groups to stop purchasing and selling bottled water in their spaces or at their events.

Lobby your elected representatives
The Council of Canadians is  calling on the federal government to support municipal water and wastewater services through a national water infrastructure fund of $31 billion. Your Member of Parliament will be in their constituency office during the weeks of March 14- 22. Meet with your representative and share the Council of Canadians’ call for a national water policy that includes adequate funding for water infrastructure. Click here to read more about the national water policy.

In Ontario, watch Water on the Table on March 24
Water on the Table highlights the work of Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow. It features the victory in Simcoe County, the battle against the tar sands, and the work to promote a right to water covenant at the United Nations. As part of a special World Water Day Week on TVO, The View From Here will premiere the broadcast of Water On The Table on Wednesday March 24, 2010 at 10 pm EST. It will repeat that same evening at 1:00 am EST, and again on Sunday March 28th at10:30 pm EST. Click here to see the trailer.

Arrange a public water utility tour
Many public water utilities encourage group tours. Build faith in your municipal water utility by organizing a group tour where members of your community can see first hand what your water supply goes through before it gets to your tap.

Make a splash in the media
Let media know about your World Water Day event. Set up meetings with local journalists and the editorial board of your local paper to let them know about local water issues. Download the World Water Day media kit here.

Toronto Mayor David Miller supports tap water.

Take the tap water pledge
Click here to show your support for public tap water by signing the tap water pledge.

Join the gallery of tap water supporters
Take a photo of yourself with a glass of tap water, or showing support for tap water in some other way. Send your photos to bluecommunities@canadians.org. You can also take photos of local politicians, and encourage members of your community to send in photos by setting up a photo booth. Get creative and show your support!

Music
Water song by Canadian duet, t@b (download lyrics)
t@b offers use for World Water Day.

Keep us informed

Be sure to keep us informed of your World Water Day activities so we can highlight them on our website. Send us your photos and event details at webmaster@canadians.org.

Information

Support our work and join/donate now!

Sign up for email updates,
e-newsletter, media, events:

HTML Text AOL

Search our site:

updated March 23, 2010