World Water Day - March 22

World Water Day is a designated United Nations day to recognize the common life sustaining resource that is our fresh water.

Ottawa (22 March 2012) - We all need water and Canada is blessed with an enormous resource of fresh water. The quality of that water is as important as the quantity, making water management an important aspect of planning.

Sustaining healthy ecosystems and human well-being can be addressed by increasing water quality through water management. It is the role of governments, organizations, communities, and individuals around the world to actively engage in addressing pollution prevention, clean up and restoration.

With this in mind, the University of Alberta has launched a Water Initiative to established interdisciplinary teams that will address a host of water challenges, some with a focus on energy and food supply, others on ecosystem health, and still others on public health.

A recent external adviser candidate, Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, current chairman of Nestlé, has created some concern that this Water Initiative may not be treating fresh water as a common resource - accessible and free to all.

The commodification of water by the Nestlé corporation is an example of the privatization of water resources. The privatization of water threatens the United Nations General Assembly's recognition of water as a human right. The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) calls on the University of Alberta to respect this historic resolution and refrain from appointing Mr. Brabeck-Letmathe as an external adviser to the Water Initiative.

NUPGE's Letter of Protest - click here

NUPGE

The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE