That clean air, clean water and healthy food are basic human rights and should be part of the Canadian Charter of Human Rights is the message behind the David Suzuki Foundation’s Blue Dot movement.
Geraldine Walsh made a presentation at the April 21 Erin meeting asking for council to support the movement and sign a declaration.
“Together everyone in our town can declare this basic human right, the right to breathe fresh air, drink clean water and eat healthy food,” Walsh said. “I am determined to be able to tell my grandchildren that I did all I could to make Erin a healthy town and Canada a more wholesome country for them to live and grown up in.”
The Blue Dot movement began last year and has the goal of having, “Every mayor of every town write to the premier and say ‘we want you to include this in Ontario’s Charter of Human Rights,’ and also to write to the prime minister and say ‘we want this to be in the Charter of Human Rights in Canada,’” Walsh explained.
The Ontario municipalities that were in support of the Blue Dot program at the time of the meeting include Hamilton, Kawartha Lakes and Richmond Hill.
Erin became the fourth Ontario Municipality to jump on board when councillors unanimously supported the signing of the declaration.
Councillor John Brennan said he was in full support of the movement because of his love for the town.
“Part and parcel of what makes this town such a great place and why we love it is the environment,” he said.
While he was in support of the movement’s vision, councillor Matt Sammut cautioned Walsh about using the monetary value of pollution as an argument in support of the movement.
“The challenge you’ll face, the group’s going to face, pollution costs $100 billion, yes, but that $100 billion probably creates revenues and jobs in the trillions,” he said. “It’s a capitalist system, I don’t necessarily agree with it but we do have to fight it for our kids and grandkids but it’s a systemic challenge we face.”
Walsh responded saying that it’s time to move forward into the “multi-billion dollar business in alternative energy.”
Walsh made a statement, based on information from the David Suzuki Foundation website, that there are no national safety regulations for drinking water and air quality in Canada.
Councillor Jeff Duncan gently refuted this claim to provide clarity for residents saying, “It mentions here that there’s no national safety regulations for drinking water and that sounds scary when you read that but the reality is drinking water regulations are a provincial matter. The province has unbelievably onerous regulations that the town adheres to.”
Mayor Allan Alls concluded the discussion saying he would gladly write a letter to the premier but he said he wanted to add a section to say Erin is, “Paying for that clean water, that clean air, that good food that people eat in the city because our taxes are double what theirs are simply because of the tax relief from the province burdens the municipality for it.”
