Published October 20, 2010
by iris_author
On October 14th, I attended the Toronto premiere of Water on the Table, a compelling film by Liz Marshall showcased at Planet in Focus — Toronto’s International Environmental Film & Video Festival. Water on the Table, features Canadian water activist Maude Barlow, the National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians. The documentary addresses some of Canada’s current water crises, while highlighting their global context.
Growing up in Northeastern Brazil, I can recall taking baths with buckets of bottled water, when our taps and showers ran dry. Before moving to Canada, nearly a decade ago, I believed water crises were limited to underdeveloped countries and it had never occurred to me that Canada, a freshwater-rich country, could ever face such issues.
But, this is far from the truth. In fact, Canada currently faces several issues over water use and conservation. In Water on the Table, Barlow explains how the Alberta Tar Sands use an incredible amount of water, daily, to separate the oil from the soil. As Chris Wood — author of Dry Spring: The Coming Water Crisis of North America — explains in a recent article for The Walrus, “for every barrel of crude extracted from the oil sands in its southeastern reaches, three more of water are pumped from rivers that flow into the Mackenzie.”
In addition to compromising our water supplies and wildlife, the Tar Sands have had devastating effects on its neighbouring communities. The health and wellbeing of residents of Fort Chipewyan in Northern Alberta have been greatly affected by the pollution of Lake Athabasca. According to Barlow, the only way to address this issue and to prevent further pollution and environmental degradation is to recognize the fundamental difference between a human need and a human right.
In Water on the Table, Barlow explains that if we define water as a human need, we allow it to be bought, bottled, sold and traded, whereas, if we define it as a human right, water cannot be privatized or denied. Thanks in great part to Barlow the United Nations General Assembly recently declared clean water and sanitation a human right.
On Sunday, I had the great pleasure of watching Liz Marshal receive the 2010 Planet in Focus Best Canadian Feature Film Award for Water on the Table, a well-deserved accolade.
Posted in: Blogs
Hi Patty – at the Canada Green Building Council Gala, held at Wychwood Barns, the keynote speaker explained how we are importing enormous amounts of water from California to the Great Lakes Region in the form of lettuce. Lettuce is about 98% water! This is essentially an inter-basin water transfer – but no one thinks of it that way – another reason to eat local lettuce.