Legislative Action

Federal Government Spends Millions on Bottled Water Instead of Infrastructure

Posted: May 20, 2009

Green Party of Canada Press Release, May 20th, 2009 -
OTTAWA--The Green Party of Canada is calling on the federal government to avoid the purchase of bottled water wherever possible, both for economic and environmental reasons. A recent report by the Polaris Institute and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Nova Scotia has exposed that the Canadian government spent over $7.2 million of public money to purchase bottled water over the past three years. "It is not right for the government to spend public money on bottled water when there are many Canadians who still do not have access to safe public drinking water in their communities," said Green Party of Canada Natural Resources Critic Amy Collard. "Unless the bottled water is absolutely necessary, it would be much better to spend this money on improving public access to safe, clean tap water."

Bottled water has a large environmental footprint. The energy and oil required to produce a plastic bottle is equal to one third of the volume of that bottle, and then the bottles are trucked around the country resulting in greenhouse gas emissions. Finally, millions of these bottles end up in landfills each year.

"Avoiding bottled water wherever possible is just sensible," said Green Leader Elizabeth May. "Unless there is an emergency or some reason that safe tap water is not available, there is no good reason to use bottled water."

The Polaris/CUPE report points out that with the amount of money spent on bottled water, the federal government could have paid for 2,918 indoor or 584 outdoor water fountains or could have upgraded a water treatment plant in a First Nations community. According to Indian and Northern Affairs, $3.3 million was spent supplying First Nations reserves with bottled water.

"Bottled water sends the wrong message," said Collard. "Clean, safe drinking water is a basic human right. Instead of providing profit for the bottled water industry, the federal government should be investing in Canada's water infrastructure. By purchasing bottled water, the federal government has demonstrated a lack of regard for the needs of Canadians."

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Contact:
Michael Bernard
Communications Officer
Green Party of Canada
613-562-4916 ext. 244
(c) 613-614-4916
michael.bernard@greenparty.ca