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Council of Canadians condemns arrests of Detroiters protesting water cut-offs

Ottawa – The Council of Canadians condemns the unwarranted arrests of Detroit residents who protested water cut-offs on the morning of July 10th. The residents blocked the entrance to Homrich Wrecking Inc., the company contracted to shut-off residential water service.

“We are shocked to hear that residents acting to make sure their neighbours have drinking water were arrested this morning. We stand in solidarity with the Detroit residents asserting one of their most basic human rights,” says Maude Barlow, national chairperson for the Council of Canadians. “In a region that holds 20% of the world’s freshwater, the water cut-offs are a source of growing international outrage. We’re urging President Obama to step in and stop the cut-offs.”

Last month, Caterina de Albuquerque, the Special Rapporteur on the Human Right to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation, confirmed that people should not be cut off from their water and sanitation services because they cannot afford to pay their bill.

In March 2014, the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department announced it would begin shutting off water ser­vice for 1,500 to 3,000 customers every week if their water bills were not paid.

The Windsor-Essex chapter of the Council of Canadians is organizing a solidarity action on July 24 by bringing 1000 litres of water to Detroit residents to draw attention to the blatant violation of the human right to water and sanitation.

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Detroit water cut-offs