This is the Water Declaration resolution that was brought forward by the District of Tofino to the Association of Vancouver Island Coastal Communities and then on to this years UBCM where it was endorsed almost unanimously (all but one) !

B27 WATER DECLARATION Tofino

WHEREAS one in six people in the world do not have access to clean drinking water;

AND WHEREAS the United Nations Conference on Water in 1977 affirmed the right of all persons to clean drinking water in order to satisfy their fundamental needs;

AND WHEREAS there is a global campaign to have all nations recognize water as a common good and access to drinking water as a basic human right:

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of BC Municipalities recognize and affirm:
• that water supports and connects all life;
• that access to clean water is essential to the health and sustainability of all life on this planet;
• that the value of Earth’s fresh water to the common good takes priority over any possible commercial value; and
• that fresh water is a legacy, a public trust, and a collective responsibility;

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Union of BC Municipalities work with all levels of government to develop water policies that protect and conserve natural sources of water, and ensure that the delivery, management and regulation of water and services is a public responsibility, affordable and accountable to BC citizens.

ENDORSED