To the Editor,
Re: City, RDN urged to become ‘blue’, April 5.
The Blue Communities Project is not an environmental initiative – it’s a political campaign being waged by CUPE against the Canadian beverage industry and its 13,000 employees.
Paul Moist, CUPE president, has acknowledged this in correspondence that was recently published in both the Simcoe Reformer and Owen Sound Sun Times.
In referring the matter to staff for a report, Nanaimo city council and the Regional District of Nanaimo clearly recognize this resolution for what it is: a Trojan horse-like treatise developed solely to encourage municipalities to ban the sale of bottled water in their facilities under the guise of human rights and infrastructure management.
Nanaimo Coun. Ted Greves and others who led the referral should be commended for exercising critical, independent thinking in the face of an overly simplified, factually incorrect, feel-good resolution prepared by CUPE and the Council of Canadians about complex matters that either eliminates future viable policy alternatives or extends well beyond the city’s and the region’s legislative authority.
We don’t believe that privatization is a threat to water sustainability, municipalities or CUPE.
About 97 per cent of the world’s water treatment facilities are government-operated. That’s not likely to change soon, if at all.
The private sector has proven no more adept at running these facilities than the public sector.
The bottled water industry has no interest in this matter, other than to advocate to government at all levels the need to invest in Canada’s water and sewer infrastructure, where there is now a $31-billion repair deficit, resulting in more than 1,500 boil-water advisories across the country last year.
We agree with CUPE and the council that water is a human right. Where we draw the line with them is their misguided and misleading attempts to ban the sale of bottled water in public facilities.
Bottled water does not compete with tap water.
More than 70 per cent of Canadians drink both. They consume tap water at home and bottled water on-the-go for proper hydration and better health.
Purchasing bottled water does not impact much-needed investments in Canada’s water and sewer infrastructure.
Canadians pay local, provincial and federal taxes with the expectation that a portion of those funds will be invested to properly maintain their municipal water systems. They spend their disposable income on a myriad of consumer items, including bottled water.
We remain hopeful this matter, once reviewed by staff and council at the city and RDN, will be received with no further action taken.
John B. Challinor II
Nestlé Waters Canada