Northumberland Today reports that 14-year-old Robyn Hamlyn spoke to Cobourg council’s committee of the whole this week about the municipality becoming a blue community. Cobourg is located 95 kilometres east of Toronto on the shores of Lake Ontario.
“Mayor Gil Brocanier (appears to be agreeable and) said that Lakefront Utility Services Inc. has a goal of opening five public water-bottle refilling stations around town. …(But) Councillor Miriam Mutton moved that the matter be referred to the town’s environmental advisory committee and its parks and recreation advisory committee.” Still, those committees will have staff prepare recommendations on how Cobourg can become a blue community (one challenge being the canteen facilities at city arenas are under agreements that do not prohibit the sale of bottled water).
The newspaper notes, “(Hamlyn’s) Blue Community Project (work) was undertaken after Hamlyn viewed the movie Blue Gold: World Water Wars (which features Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow). …Hamlyn began her quest by approaching the Kingston mayor to make her home town a blue community. …In all, she has spoken to 15 different councils and seen 12 communities, as far away as British Columbia, declare themselves blue communities. She hopes to work her way up to making presentations to provincial premiers, perhaps even the prime minister.”
To date, Burnaby, North Vancouver, Cumberland, Comox, Nanaimo, Victoria, Tiny Township, Niagara Falls, Ajax and Welland have been designated as blue communities.
For more, please read:
Meet the 13-Year-Old Girl Taking on Bottled Water
Blue Community Project campaign web-page
