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March 22nd, 2018

NDP Statement on World Water Day

NDP Critic for the Environment and Climate Change, Alexandre Boulerice, made the following statement:

“Today, on World Water Day, we need to do more than just remind ourselves about the crucial importance water has in our lives; we also need to talk about protecting our lakes, rivers and oceans. Like most Canadians, the NDP believes that water is not a commodity, but a fundamental right. It cannot be owned, bought or sold. And, we must do all that we can to protect it and make it accessible to all.
Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Too often, I’ve seen pictures on social media of vast islands of plastic debris floating on the ocean. Too often, I’ve heard about First Nations communities here in Canada without access to clean drinking water. Too often, I’ve seen our water supply threatened by pollution and privatization.
That is why water protection has to be a priority. We‘ve got to invest in initiatives that will transform our future. On World Water Day, we need to talk about the problem and about solutions--some of which were developed here. Take for example H2Ottawa bottle, developed by Céleste Didigiovanni at the University of Ottawa. Her initiative allows thousands of students to drink bottled water without polluting and without promoting privatization.
The more we develop more innovations like these, the healthier our environment will be. The Canadian government must follow suit and become a leader for water protection.”