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Montreal mayor Gerald Tremblay can expect to be under CUPE’s watchful eye, after recent comments he made were published in the Canadian Water and Wastewater Association Bulletin.

The bulletin reports that [t]he private sector could get involved in public transport and water distribution. Estimating that water is one of the fields where the private sector could provide new investments, the Montreal Mayor, Gerald Tremblay, has invited the government to closely examine the advantages of such a practice. According to him, it might be a way to ecologically and effectively manage water distribution.

Mayor Tremblay can brace himself for some roadblocks. Montreal municipal workers, members of CUPE 301, spearheaded a coalition that beat back a water privatization attempt in the mid-1990s. CUPE 301’s water activism has continued, and has brought other victories. A provincial government environmental agency’s report about water included a strong commitment to keep water systems public thanks to lobbying and presentations from CUPE 301.

The report’s authors said Qub0065c citizens are unanimous that water and wastewater systems are a public asset and must remain so.