Water is a Human Right

Legally Recognize the Human Right to Water in Canada

Drinking water and sanitation are globally recognized human rights, yet they are not legally enshrined or universally accessed in Canada. Sign this petition to join Indigenous leaders, water advocates, and UN staff calling on the Canadian government to recognize the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation in the federal legal framework.

Petition Co-Sponsors

Dawn Martin-Hill: Mohawk of Six Nations of the Grand, Co-Chair of Indigenous Education Council, Indigenous Engagement Committee member for the Global Water Futures project, Professor, Social Sciences at McMaster University

Layla Staats: Mohawk, Turtle Clan from the Six Nations of the Grand River. Water & Indigenous Sovereignty Activist, Musician, Film Maker, Change Artist, Land Defender, Educator, Digital Media, Film Producer, and Mom.

Makasa Looking Horse: Mohawk Wolf Clan and Lakota, Indigenous Ecological Knowledge Coordinator for McMaster University, host of Ohneganos: Let’s Talk Water podcast , Youth Leader of Ohneganos Water project Global Water Futures.

Maude Barlow: Author, activist, co-founder of the Blue Planet Project, founding member and former board chair of the Council of Canadians, chair of the board of Washington-based Food & Water Watch.

Wassekom Niin: Turtle Clan Anishinaabe from Saugeen First Nation and the Kettle & Stoney Point First Nations on the southeastern shores of Lake Huron

 

3582
Goal: 5000

Whereas the UN General Assembly adopted a Resolution Recognizing Access to Clean Water, Sanitation as Human Right in 2010;

Whereas Canada adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (or Sustainable Development Goals) in 2015, which includes universal access to clean water and sanitation;

Whereas bottled water is a false solution that does not support sustained access to drinking water and sanitation and negates government responsibility of investing public funds to build, upgrade, maintain and expand water infrastructure;

Whereas the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) is a human rights instrument that sets out the rights of Indigenous peoples around the world;

Whereas the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation Pedro Arrojo-Agudo recommended Canada recognize the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation in the federal legal framework;

Whereas more than 1 million people, including Indigenous peoples and the housing insecure, across Canada do not have access to their human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation;

We, the undersigned, call on the Government of Canada to recognize the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation in the federal legal framework. We call on the Government of Canada to implement the UNDRIP Act as the main tool to realise the commitment to reconciliation as a national priority.

 

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