Indigenous OPSEU members mark UN World Water Day by building alliances to fight water pollution and privatization

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 23, 2017

Indigenous OPSEU members mark UN World Water Day
by building alliances to fight water pollution and privatization

Toronto – To mark the UN’s World Water Day, the OPSEU Indigenous Mobilization Team (IMT) assembled a group of water protectors from across Ontario and around the world who have committed to working together to protect our water from pollution and privatization.

“What we do to water is what we do to ourselves,” said Crystal Sinclair, a member of the IMT. “We all share the responsibility of protecting our water because our water is our life.”

Called the “Water is Life Symposium,” the day-long event at the George Brown College waterfront campus featured participants from a variety of backgrounds and communities, including Wisdom Keeper Pauline Shirt, George Brown College Aboriginal counsellors Lori Budge and Jolene May, Trent University facilitators Mary-Claire Buell and Kyla Judge, former Awkesasne Chief Brian David, internationally renowned activist Karl Flecker, two Indigenous midwives and midwifery activists from rural Guatemala, and OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas.

The common thread throughout the day of seminars, drumming, prayers, interactive workshops, and presentations was the importance of protecting our water.

“Indigenous communities across Ontario are in a water crisis,” said Thomas. “Over 100 communities are under a boil-water advisory right now. And this is nothing new. This has been a chronic problem for decades.

“I have full confidence that Indigenous participants at this symposium who represent communities across Ontario know what needs to be done to protect us all,” Thomas added. “OPSEU is stepping up as your partner to help this happen.”

Partnerships are crucial to success said Flecker, whose activism has taken him around the world.

“Corporations are becoming more and more skillful about turning our water into profit. They steal water from our aquifers, raise the price a thousandfold, and then sell it back to us,” he said. “We must resist.”

He said the UN is warning that within 10 years, overconsumption and contamination could leave the world with 60% of what is needed to survive.

But he also says that there is reason for hope, pointing to communities around the world – many of them Indigenous – that are working together to save their water.

“New Zealand has passed a law that recognizes one of its major rivers as a living entity. If you harm the river, it’s like you’re harming a person. On Monday, India passes a similar law protecting the Ganges,” said Flecker. “Indigenous leadership is saving our water supplies.”

Before closing the event with a prayer, Wisdom Keeper Pauline Shirt said that protecting our water will take both solidarity and spirituality. “Remember that water is the lifeblood of Mother Earth,” she said. “We’ve heard many beautiful, healing words today. Together, we’ll honour our responsibility to protect our land, our water, and our cultures.”

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For more information:

OPSEU IMT member Crystal Sinclair, 416-706-2387, phoenixfeatherscs@gmail.com
OPSEU IMT member Darlene Kaboni, 705-618-0024, dpkaboni@gmail.com
OPSEU IMT member Russ Jock Kaboni, 315-296-8603, russjockimt@gmail.com