Photo by Council of Canadians PEI chapter.
The Council of Canadians PEI chapter is seeking to have Charlottetown and other municipalities on Prince Edward Island become blue communities.
On April 21, the chapter posted on its Facebook page, “Council of Canadians – PEI Chapter launched its Blue Communities Campaign today. The Council of Canadians will be asking the City of Charlottetown to become a ‘Blue Community’ in order to preserve water for nature and future generations. A Blue Community is one that adopts a water commons framework by taking three actions:
1. Recognize water & sanitation as human rights
2. Ban the sale of bottled water in public facilities & at municipal events
3. Promote publicly financed, owned-operated water & waste water services.”
Their post adds, “The Blue Communities Project is a joint effort by the Canadian Union of Public Employees and the Council of Canadians. Eighteen Canadian and four international communities have become ‘Blue Communities’ with the latest being Paris, France in March, 2016.”
Last week, CBC reported, “Marian White, a volunteer with the group said when a city becomes a Blue Community, the sale of bottled water is limited at public events. …’If we rely on bottled water, then we’ll be paying for water for the rest of our lives, and our children’s children’, said White.”
And today, the Guardian reports, “Leo Broderick, vice chairman of the Council of Canadians, says the project aims to preserve water for nature and future generations. …Broderick says the Council of Canadians plans to take the Blue Communities campaign to other municipalities in P.E.I., notably Summerside, Stratford and Montague, as well as some of the other larger communities. …Broderick lauds the Charlottetown city council for voting in 2007 to cease purchasing bottled water. …Broderick says staff persons at city hall have voiced interest in the project. ‘Eventually, we will have to get to talk to the politicians’, he says.”
For more information on our blue communities campaign, please click here.