Eau Secours! made waves during the recent Québec election, pushing candidates to commit to policies that protect public water and the environment. The coalition’s key demands are based on the province’s national water policy.
Among the policy’s 57 recommendations, four are a priority for the coalition: sewage treatment to save the St. Lawrence River; make sure all Quebec cities achieve standards set by drinking water regulations during the next government’s mandate; and end to the current self-regulation of water bottlers and obliging them to run the same quality tests as cities; and the repeal of Article 64 of Bill 134, which allows cities to privatize water management.
The coalition approached candidates in all 125 electoral districts, and pledged to continue the fight for water as the new government – a Liberal minority - takes power.
Eau Secours! which counts CUPE as a member, recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. The coalition has 225 member groups, 2,300 individual members and more than 70 “Water Carriers”.