A Blue Community Update

A message from Paul Baines, our Blue Community Coordinator

It has been two years since the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph became a Blue Community and we are playing an important role in protecting water as a human right, shared commons, and sacred gift.

In 2019 the project:

• presented in schools, parishes, and key events to widen the circle of water protectors
• increased our community's understanding of why this Blue Community initiative is important 
• designed and distributed thousands of coasters, postcards, buttons, and stickers to share Blue Community messages
• connected with other organizations, faith groups, and Indigenous communities to build water solidarity
• joined and invited advocacy to Federal and Provincial governments about the lack of clean water on First Nations reserves and the deniel of new bottled water permits

To Learn more about our work as a Blue Community member please visit: https://www.bluecommunitycsj.org/

IN THE NEWS:

ONTARIO
‘We’re in a David-and-Goliath situation.’ Small Ontario town taking on Nestle to save its water
Front page of Toronto Star. Please share widely.
https://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/news-story/9778589--we-re-in-a-david-and-goliath-situation-small-ontario-town-taking-on-nestle-to-save-its-water/

Consider sending a letter to the editor of Toronto Star to express your support for denying Nestle permit to take water in Centre Wellington, and to phase out their existing permits to take water in Aberfoyle and Hillsburgh. Send your contribution to Letters to the Editor via email to lettertoed@thestar.ca; via fax to 416-869-4322; or by mail to One Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario M5E 1E6. Letters must include full name, address and all phone numbers of sender (daytime, evening and cellphone). Street names and phone numbers will not be published. Star reserves the right to edit letters, which typically run 50-150 words.

CANADA
The secrets of Canada's tap water, explained
Would it surprise you to know drinking water in some Canadian cities contains unsafe levels of lead? A year-long investigation by more than 120 journalists from nine universities and 10 media organizations found some disturbing answers. Hundreds of thousands of Canadians could be consuming tap water laced with high levels of lead leaching from aging infrastructure and plumbing, a large collection of newly-released data and documents reveals.
See the 7 minute video here: https://youtu.be/l0h55NoUBmg

THUNDER BAY
Over 200 classes worldwide participate in Junior Water Walkers initiative inspired by Late Josephine Mandamin
“I was actually working on a virtual Google Earth story that took kids on a virtual field trip around the five Great Lakes,” Cameron says. “So it was incredible that I could have Josephine come to speak to my students — my kids took Josephine on a virtual field trip and Josephine then told my students about her walk to bring awareness on the need to protect water. My students told Josephine they would do their part to carry on her legacy and her walk and become Junior Water Walkers.”

Project lead: Peter Cameron, a Lakehead University alumnus and Grade 5/6 teacher at St. Elizabeth’s School in Thunder Bay.
https://anishinabeknews.ca/2019/12/11/over-200-classes-worldwide-participate-in-junior-water-walkers-initiative-inspired-by-late-josephine-mandamin

TORONTO
Toronto launches $3B project to improve water quality in Lake Ontario and city's waterways
"Currently, when a major storm hits our city... and dumps huge quantities of rain water onto the city… the wastewater system goes into overdrive to prevent major flooding," Mayor John Tory said Saturday.As the water rushes in, Tory said, the system pushes wastewater overflows into the rivers and into Lake Ontario when it reaches a certain threshold.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-storm-water-wastewater-management-program-1.5396886

HAMILTON
Hamilton’s Chedoke Creek sewage spill
The City of Hamilton has been ordered to come up with another report on the spill of 24 billion litres of sewage that seeped into Chedoke Creek over four years.
https://globalnews.ca/news/6248469/second-report-hamilton-chedoke-creek-sewage-spill/

OTTAWA
Hopewell school in Ottawa on way to becoming first elementary school Blue Community

Hopewell Avenue Public School in Ottawa is working towards the distinction of being the first elementary school designated as a “Blue Community.” The school, which is home to more than 900 students in Kindergarten to Grade 8, welcomed Council of Canadians Honorary Chairperson Maude Barlow and Water Campaigner Vi Bui in their gymnasium today and listened to them speak about the importance of protecting water.
https://canadians.org/blog/hopewell-school-ottawa-way-becoming-first-elementary-school-blue-community

To Learn more about our work as a Blue Community member please visit: https://www.bluecommunitycsj.org/

CSJ Blue Communities Updates

November 28, 2019

These past few weeks, our Blue Communities Coordinator Paul Baines has been following water issues in the news while also participating in a grassroots review of Ontario's bottled water permit policy. 

Wellington Water Watchers

A network of water groups have been trying to limit Nestlé's access to groundwater for years. Led by groups such as the Wellington Water Watchers, this network (which our Blue Community project is a member of) has been raising awareness about the impacts of the bottled water business and asking for a science, ethics, and rights-based approach for sustainable and just water policy. 

There is a 4-page information sheet regarding this subject available on the CSJ Blue Communities website. These past two weeks have seen major shifts in bottled water policy.

10,000 Signatures

Two weeks ago, water protectors were asking for public support to extend the current moratorium on new bottled water permits. One week ago, we found out that the ban would be lifted at the end of 2019 allowing for growth in the industry including a third well for Nestlé near Elora Ontario.

The pressure was on to let Jeff Yurek (our Minister of Environment, Conservation, and Parks) know that there are far too many unresolved issues to grant new permits. The moratorium was needed to address water flow science, plastic pollution, the rights, consent, and jurisdiction of Indigenous nations, as well as a groundswell of public opposition.

None of these issues have been addressed since the ban started two years ago. Then, just days ago, the Ontario provincial government announced it would add another nine months onto the ban.

What happened during these two weeks?   Environmental Defence launched a petition that gathered 10,000 signatures. The Council of Canadians also launched a petition that gathered 10,000 signatures!

Save Our Water in Elora launched a letter writing campaign and Wellington Water Watchers held four high profile public events (called All Eyes on Nestlé tour) in four cities and launched a campaign organizing people to phone Minister Yurek (MPP for Elgin-Middlesex-London).

***

Canada's Lead Crisis

These past two weeks have also seen an explosion of stories about Canada's lead crisis in tap water. Earlier this week, an investigative report by several media outlets revealed dangerously high levels of lead in tap water across Canada.

This investigation took a combined effort from 120 journalists, working at nine universities and 10 media organizations across the country.

They reported that millions of Canadians are exposed to this neurotoxin through the aging lead pipes that distribute water from municipal water treatment plant to households across 11 cities. Please click here to read a story about this on Canadians.org. The Toronto Star also published a column, How to Solve the Lead Crisis in Canada, which you can read by clicking here.

I Am Water: introduce yourself with water

From our CSJ Blue Community website. 

Many of the actions we can take to honour water as a human right, shared commons, and sacred gift are collective, yet the ways we describe who we are and where we are from can shift the broader water-agenda in profound ways. 

https://www.bluecommunitycsj.org/post/i-am-water-introduce-yourself-with-water

CSJ BLUE COMMUNITY UPDATE

Water News

There is a water justice Summit coming to London this fall. The Water is Life Alliance is hosting its next gathering at Western University on Saturday, September 28th. Speakers include: Maude Barlow, Lela George, Holly T. Bird, Claire McClinton, and more.   Find out more on their website.   REGISTER HERE

TV Ontario segment on drinking water crisis on First Nations reserves. See the video. From the TVO website: Water quality advisories are nothing new in Indigenous communities and Attawapiskat First Nation is the latest place to declare a state of emergency over water. The crisis highlights the long, rocky road still ahead for reconciliation. The Agenda welcomes Willow Fiddler, an APTN video journalist and Dawn Martin-Hill, academic director of the Indigenous Studies program at McMaster University, and Marc Miller, parliamentary secretary to the minister of crown-Indigenous relations, to discuss this issue.

Water Actions

Support the Water Doc Film Festival. No other film festival in Canada brings together so many water educators, activists, artists, organizations and protectors into one space to raise awareness and inspire action to protect water. See and share their fundraising page now reaching only 50% of their goal.

Any day now, Nestlé will have to submit a new application for a permit and you can bet it’s hoping to do so under the radar. But if we can make a huge stink now, we can pressure Ontario’s government to deny the permit and stop Nestlé’s greedy water grab for good. Sign and share the petition.

To learn more about water issues and to take action, visit the Blue Community website.