Sara Falconer
The year 2010 may be looming, but this week it’s time to party like it’s 1999. From Nov. 27 to 29, water champions from across the country will be gathering in Ottawa for the Blue Summit, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the first Water Watch conference. The event is co-hosted by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the Council of Canadians, who helped form the first Water Watch committees along with other community members.
“Most of our groups were involved in fighting private-public partnerships at the time and many were successful,” says Meera Karunananthan, national water campaigner for the Council of Canadians.
“I think today we’re increasingly aware that we are dealing with a water crisis in Canada… so we’ve really expanded our movement.” Water pollution, contamination and shortages are among the intertwined issues that will be discussed by experts at the conference. “We have an economy in Canada that’s built on this myth of abundant supplies of water,” Karunananthan explains, yet a shocking one-third of municipalities have experienced water shortages in the past decade.
The hardest hit are indigenous communities in rural areas. “At any given time there are up to 100 boil-water advisories on First Nations reserves across the country,” says Paul Moist, national president of CUPE. Canada is one of the few countries that have refused to sign crucial UN declarations recognizing water as a human right, and protecting indigenous human rights. “That’s one of the reasons we
need to shine a light within the borders of Canada.”
Moist hopes that the conference will open up a dialogue about water issues in an international context as well. Speakers include Al-Hassan Adam, co-ordinator of the Africa Water Network.
With the Copenhagen climate talks coming up in December, it’s also important to make the link between climate change and water shortages.
A rally at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 28, at Parliament Hill will demand that any climate deals include strong legislative safeguards for water. The global economic crisis offers a chance for dialogue too, Karunananthan adds. “It’s an opportunity for us to get together and talk about alternative models that prioritize people and the environment.”
A full weekend of events kicks off with a party on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Marriott Hotel, featuring Chris Rouse, Joni NehRita and a Prince tribute band (!). Visit www.canadians.org/bluesummit to peruse the schedule and register.
And you can keep water on your brain by attending a screening of H2Oil, a documentary on the struggle to defend water sources in Alberta against tar sands expansion, from Friday through Monday at 7 p.m., Mayfair Theatre, 1074 Bank St.