Turn On The Tap During The Election

Not all political parties the same: The Polaris Institute in Ottawa and David Suzuki launched a "Turn on the Tap" campaign to urge federal parties to eschew bottled water - with very different responses. Here's their release today:

Ottawa — During the 2008 Federal Election all major political parties were issued a challenge, by the Polaris Institute in collaboration with David Suzuki, to “Turn on the Tap” and make their campaigns bottled water free.  In the past year universities, faith-based organizations, restaurants and municipalities across the country committed to public water systems by restricting bottled water use.  In the 2008 election the New Democrats and Green Party joined a growing movement of Canadians taking a stand in support of public water.

The New Democratic Party committed to:

· “No bottled water at our central campaign office”

· “No bottled water supplied at Leader’s Tour events”

· “Significant efforts on the Leader’s Tour Bus to limit the use of bottled water”

The Green Party committed to:

· “A non-reusable bottled-free campaign”

Unfortunately the Liberal Party refused to commit to the challenge on the basis that they do not sign pledges during elections, though they did issue a statement outlining their party platform on water resources.

The Conservative Party and Bloc Quebecois did not return repeated requests for confirmation of their position.

“In Canada, municipal water systems are among the safest and strongest in the world.  Meanwhile bottled water costs more, is less regulated, consumes more energy and releases more harmful toxics into the environment than tap water.  On this issue, the New Democrats and Greens showed real leadership by committing to ditch the bottle and turn on the tap,” says Tony Clarke, Director of the Polaris Institute.

About the Polaris Institute: The Polaris Institute is a Canadian based organization designed to enable citizens to work for democratic social change.