What happened to the…

Everyone knows in their heads and hearts that the privatization of water is wrong. That it is one of the most dangerous outcomes that can come from continuing to allow corporations to bottle and sell water around the world.

What is even more frustrating and frightening is that the corporations and now private equity companies taking and profiting from all our Canadian water resources are foreign owned.

It takes courage to stand up and say NO when harm is being done. However, we have seen many leaders in the past do the right thing. Leaders in Nova Scotia had the courage to close down a Pulp industry that was destroying their lands and water. Leaders in the USA said no to an oil pipeline crossing their country because they knew that there were more sustainable energy sources in our future. Leaders in Bolivia said no to multiple exploitative corporations on behalf of their citizens. None of these territories fell into ruin. No they were empowered and are leaders looked up to. The corporations suffered only a little financial loss and that was mainly felt in the size of their CEOs bonuses.

It is time for our Canadian leaders to use our tax dollars to say NO to bottled water and water taking for profit by Canadian and foreign owned corporations and and equity companies through
1) immediately developing and implementing tough policies and regulations to
a) protect our natural resources for the whole and future Canadian generations
b) enable the sovereignty of local communities trying to protect their natural resources, especially those first nations communities.
2) enforcement of these policies and regulations with immediate termination of any licensing that is in place with no possibility of renewal.
3) ensuring that the entire population of our country has access to safe drinking water from their taps
4) installation of water fountains in all the public places (downtown squares, museums, parks, schools, recreation centres, art galleries, etc) and ensure these fountains all have spouts that allow for reusable water bottles to be filled.
5) education with the public of their access to potable water from their taps, fountains etc. This is especially important for our new Canadians - many of whom come from countries that did not have potable water. Make it drinking tap water the thing to do! It's all marketing.

How did we get here?
Generations before had gone through wars and needed to work together to survive. As economies recovered, they were able to make money, and common sense decisions that were for the good of the whole. They saw the benefits of universal health care, social nets for those struggling.

As the population grew, so did the ability to be able to ignore those lesser advantaged, and the nature that sustains all of us. Now there is a greater lack of personal relationships; accountability to neighbours, and future generations. It is enhanced by the narrow focus on capitalism with no long term or, greater care for the full impact of these decisions.

Bottling water is one of the greatest crimes to humanity that is only able to happen because, of antiquated government policies that have allowed a loop hole to be exploited. Think of the history of the water letting policy. It was to allow movement of water for agricultural use (feeding people and animals). It is now used to create one of the greatest wastes of all time all in the name of convenience. Waste that drains local taxes in it's recovery and disposal. Waste that has lost it's value as a recyclable commodity, and instead is unnecessarily filling landfill sites.

This was not a surprise for many of us. We watched as public water fountains were removed from educational institutions, parks, and public sports and art venues. They were replaced by vending machines who promised a share of the profit to these public organizations and the vendors in the vicinity of public places. There was then some push back to all the sugary snacks and drinks in these vending machines. Bottled water is touted as a great alternative to the sugary drinks.

Combined with intense marketing of the convenience and "better quality" of bottled water, people are now paying more for water in a bottle, than they do for gasoline for their car. And then when their thirst is quenched, they throw away the bulk of that water in a capped plastic bottle. That precious water is trapped in a polluting capsule of plastic for how long? Plastic that is leading to mountains of unwanted waste.

One Rock Capital Partners LLC and Metropoulos & Co. on Wednesday announced the completion of the $4.3 billion deal to buy Nestle Waters North America. The acquisition was announced Feb. 16. It came about eight months after Swiss food and beverage giant Nestle S.A. said it would conduct a strategic review of its North American waters division, as it sought to sharpen the focus of its global water portfolio. 31 March 2021

Are you going to let this continue?