(St. John’s) - MP Norm Doyle has met with CUPE NL President Wayne Lucas and Bill Hynd of Oxfam Canada around the issue of water.
Bill Hynd, Oxfam’s Campaigns Coordinator wanted to know why Canada would stand in opposition to making water a human right. As Hynd explains, “It is totally nonsensical that Canada would block a motion at the United Nations Human Rights Council to have water declared a human right. Mr. Doyle agreed that there is nothing more basic or important to human health than water. Mr. Doyle was not aware of Canada’s opposition and has agreed to seriously look into the matter.”
Wayne Lucas raised CUPE’s concerns about the latest budget and the new bill that would see major infrastructure projects, including water and sanitation, become public private partnerships (P3s).
As Lucas said, “Instead of providing the necessary funding to help municipalities with their infrastructure costs, including water and sanitation, this budget ties the hands of municipalities and forces them to look at the private sector for support. This is quite honestly bad public policy. P3s lack accountability and transparency and they cost more. Water is a public good and should stay as a public service.”
Mr. Doyle accepted an invitation to attend the upcoming CUPE Municipal Workers conference, Saturday May 3 in St. John’s, to view a new National Film Board video called Dead in the Water that focuses on water privatization.
For more information:
Wayne Lucas Bill Hynd
CUPE NL President Oxfam
(709) 727-2509 (Cell) (709) 753-2202 (o)