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UPDATE: Victoria Times Colonist backs blue community motion

The Victoria Times Colonist editorial board writes, “Councillors (have) backed a motion by Councillor Marianne Alto that designates the city a ‘blue community’, one that supports publicly owned water supplies, bans bottled water at civic facilities and recognizes water as a basic human right. The sale of bottled water will be prohibited at the city works yard, the parks yard, city hall and the Crystal Pool.”

The editorial board argues, “People in many countries would envy our access to safe, dependable water. Despite that, it has become acceptable to buy bottles of water transported here from somewhere else. Then we recycle the empties – or send them to the landfill – and buy full bottles. It would be cheaper, easier and better for the environment if we simply used what is made available by the Capital Regional District water services people. …Victoria city council has decided to lead by example, banning the sale of bottled water at its facilities. …At times, bottled water makes sense. But most of the time, we are buying bottles simply for the sake of convenience. And it’s time to admit that the cost is too high.”

The backing of the Victoria Times Colonist newspaper is important, especially given word that Nestle Waters Canada is actively opposing the proposed bottled water ban.

The Blue Communities Project is an initiative of the Council of Canadians and CUPE, and in Quebec with Eau Secours.

Last week we issued an action alert that states, “If you live in Victoria, tell the mayor and your city councillor that you want Victoria to be the next blue community and that you support water as a human right, global commons and public service. Please send this action alert to friends, family and colleagues.” For more – including the contact information for Victoria city councillors – please go to http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/making-waves/2011/06/action-alert-tell-mayor-and-city-councillors-you-want-victoria-b.

For more on the efforts to make Victoria a blue community, please see ‘NEWS: Victoria set to become a blue community’ at http://canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=8293 and ‘UPDATE: Victoria poised to become a blue community on June 23’ at http://canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=8255.
Burnaby, British Columbia became the first blue community on March 22 of this year. There is hope that Pointe-Claire, Quebec may also soon become a blue community. To find out how to make your community a blue community, please go to http://canadians.org/bluecommunities.