The Winnipeg Free Press reports, “A handful of aboriginal women are carrying a copper bucket full of Hudson Bay water all the way to Lake Superior to protest pollution, flooding and the lack of clean running water in hundreds of Northern Manitoba homes. The water arrived in Winnipeg with the women — many of them grandmothers — Monday evening from Churchill. …Top-of-mind issues for the walkers include water pollution from industries like oil and gas and mining, flooding and the lack of clean drinking water and indoor plumbing in many remote Canadian communities, especially in Manitoba.”
“Similar walks are being held simultaneously across the continent. Water from the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans are en route to the same location on the shores of Lake Superior. Each copper pail has a GPS tracker hooked on its handle so people can trace the progress of each walk online. On June 12, the salt water from the four buckets will be added to Lake Superior’s freshwater.”
On Friday, the group of water-walkers coming from the Atlantic arrived in Ottawa. To read Council of Canadians water campaigner Emma Lui’s blog on this, please go to http://canadians.org/waterblog/?p=249. My campaign blog on this welcoming ceremony is at http://canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=7975.
On Saturday, Emma wrote, “I joined the water walkers this afternoon in Cumberland which was an amazing experience. We walked until Montreal Road and the 174, just outside of Ottawa before we ended for the day. The walkers kept an amazing pace throughout the day. Many were tired but all were committed to the walk and raising awareness about water.”
And on Sunday, my family joined the water-walkers at 5 am for three hours of their walk through Ottawa, past Parliament Hill, across the Ottawa River, and into Gatineau. Like Emma, I was very impressed by their commitment to water justice, their individual kindness, and the pace they maintained – especially 800 kilometres after their May 7 start in Machias, Maine. You can find out where they are right now by visiting http://emptyglassforwater.ca/map/.
To send messages of solidarity to the walkers, e-mail waterwalk2011@gmail.com with ‘BLUE’ in the subject line. The organizers of the march are posting ‘blue bubbles’ with these messages on a map they have. Please include the place you are writing from and what body of water you would like your message placed on.
