Port Alberni city council
The Alberni Valley Times reports, “Port Alberni is on its way to being a blue community. In the regular council meeting on Monday night (August 22), Marusha Taylor, on behalf of the Alberni Chapter of the Council of Canadians, challenged mayor and council to become the third community in Canada to go blue.”
“The Blue Communities Project challenges communities to adopt three principles when it comes to water: recognize that water is a human right, promoting publicly financed, owned and operated water and waste-water services and banning the sale of bottled water in public facilities and at municipal events. Taylor said there are so many reasons to take the lead on this initiative, which is a joint venture between the Council of Canadians and the Canadian Union of Public Employees. …’Canadians are not supporting water on the world stage,’ she explained. ‘We are in the position to set an example.'”
“(Port Alberni) Council agreed that water is a serious concern, and they could support the three resolutions in principle, but at this time council adopted resolutions recognizing water as a fundamental human right and promoting publicly financed services. Although they acknowledged the importance of the issue of bottled water, they decided they needed more information, and they requested that staff report on the implications of banning the sale of bottled water in public facilities and at municipal events. Taylor said council has already taken important steps towards banning bottled water by eliminating its use at council meetings.”
A subsequent Alberni Valley Times editorial states, “Council made the right choice by supporting the first two requirements of the Blue Community Project, recognizing water as a fundamental human right and promoting publicly financed, owned and operated water and wastewater services. They should also be proud of the fact that every meeting they drink tap water, instead of supplying everyone with bottled water. But now they need to think seriously about going even further. They need to lead by example, and if tap water is good enough for council meetings, it should be suitable everywhere else. Water deserves to be protected.”
More blue communities: On March 22 this year, Burnaby, British Columbia became the first blue community in Canada. Then on June 23, the city council of Victoria, BC voted to become a blue community. Now, Tiny Township, Ontario (perhaps on September 12), Kingston, ON (on September 20), Pointe-Claire, Quebec, and Port Alberni, BC (pending a resolution on bottled water as noted above), are also poised to become blue communities. In February, a Montreal Gazette reporter argued that Montreal should become a blue community, http://canadians.org/blog/?p=5422.
To find out how to make your community a blue community, please go to http://canadians.org/bluecommunities.
