Canadian groups mobilize for the right to water

Catholic New Times, April 9, 2006

TORONTO -- A mass Canadian mobilization is representing a growing public concern about water issues in Canada and abroad.

On World Water Day March 22, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the Council of Canadians joined forces with faith-based organizations Development and Peace and KAIROS: Ecumenical Justice Initiatives, to demonstrate against public control of water resources both in Canada and around the world.

The Canadian organizations are calling on the federal government to form a national Water policy banning the export of water, creating national standards for clean drinking water and committing federal funds to help municipalities and Aboriginal communities upgrade water infrastructure. As well, the groups are urging the Canadian government to endorse moves by the UN to enshrine the right to water under international law.

Water should be a human right, not another commodity to be supplied by the market on the basis of wealth, according to Maude Barlow, national chair of the Council of Canadians.

"We are on the threshold of a global water crisis ... If current trends continue, two-thirds of the people on the planet will not have access to clean water by the year 2025," Barlow said in a press release.

Mary Corkery, executive director of KAIROS, said there are "moral and spiritual imperatives" ensuring clean water remains in public control. "Without water we cannot live. Any denial of access to water represents a lack of respect and concern for basic human rights."