Author: Soroptimist International Western Canada Region

Soroptimist International Western Canada Region Celebrating Success Awards recognize projects and practices that improve the lives of women and girls. The Celebrating Success Awards honours outstanding, creative and effective club programs or practices undertaken in the stated time period.

Petition to the Government of Canada

Whereas:

• Canada is one of only two countries in the developed world that do not have national drinking water regulations;

• Canada annually reports over 400,000 episodes of enteric disease deemed to be related to drinking water;

• The responsibility for providing safe drinking water in Canada is divided among federal, provincial, municipal, and territorial governments, with varying guidelines or standards;

• The most critical component of producing safe drinking water is protecting the quality of source waters, and First Nations, Inuit, Métis, and rural Canadians must be empowered to protect their source waters;

• First Nations people reject Bill C-61, as it gives them liability instead of responsibility for their water;

• In 2010, Canada supported United Nations General Assembly Resolution 64/292 in recognizing that clean drinking water and sanitation are the basis of all human rights; and

• The World Health Organization produces international guidelines on water quality and human health that serve as the basis for setting regulations and standards worldwide.

We, the undersigned, residents of Canada, call upon the Minister of Health to respect the rights of First Nations, Inuit, Métis, and all people living in Canada to safe drinking water and – in full partnership with First Nations, Métis, Inuit, provincial, municipal, and territorial governments – to establish National Drinking Water Regulations that meet or exceed the guidelines established by the World Health Organization.

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