An Indian family chooses to stay at home and drown rather than make way…
Water On The Table
- Description
- Reviews
- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
If you are not affiliated with a college or university, and are interested in watching this film, please register as an individual and login to rent this film. Already registered? Login to rent this film.
WATER ON THE TABLE features Maude Barlow, who is considered an 'international water-warrior' for her crusade to have water declared a human right. 'Water must be declared a public trust and a human right that belongs to the people, the ecosystem and the future, and preserved for all time and practice in law. Clean water must be delivered as a public service, not a profitable commodity.'
The film intimately captures the public face of Maude Barlow as well as the unscripted woman behind the scenes. The camera shadows her life on the road in Canada -- including an eye-opening visit to Alberta's tar sands -- and the United States over the course of a year as she serves as the UN Senior Advisor on Water to Fr. Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, President of the 63rd Session of the United Nations.
More than a portrait of an activist, WATER ON THE TABLE presents several dramatic opposing arguments. Barlow's critics are policy and economic experts who argue water is no different than any other resource, and that the best way to protect freshwater is to privatize it. It is proposed that Canada bulk-export its water to the United States in the face of an imminent water crisis.
'It has been said that the supreme challenge of the 21st century will be how we resolve the inherent conflict between human activity and environmental sustainability. Nowhere is this challenge greater than in the realm of freshwater resources. Water on the Table strikes directly to the heart of this issue. There is no ducking these questions, there is immediacy in their asking, and the future hangs on our answers. This film is also a testament to the power of the individual, and a confirmation that we all can and do make a difference. This is an important film, beautifully constructed, seriously examining the values we put on water.' Dr. J. Val Klump, Director and Senior Scientist, Great Lakes WATER Institute, Professor, School of Freshwater Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
'Water On The Table uses an impassioned biography/ characterization of one woman to tell the story about the future of water - soon to be our most limited resource. The story of this selfless visionary underlines some of the threats facing this most basic human need. So-called 'Big Water,' the international corporations that are angling to profiteer on water access, is a major focus. Although she is at times strident and reckless, Maude Barlow's point of view is one that we need to hear and attend to.' Dr. James Danoff-Burg, Director, Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Economic Growth, Center for Environment, Economy and Society, Columbia University
'Water On The Table is an interesting film that highlights some of the current and potential future water-related issues in North America as seen through the activism of former U.N. water advisor Maude Barlow. The film follows her day-to-day work from addressing the U.N. General Assembly, to fact-finding missions on the impacts of tar sand mining in Alberta on local populations and ecosystems, to leading local protests to protect aquifers from contamination. This is set against the backdrop of political and corporate pressures on how best to use Canada's water resources and the diametric views on whether water is a human right or tradable commodity. The film is both a portrayal of a dedicated and caring human being, and a tour of how water is becoming a key issue for the environment, politics, trade, and immigration in what is generally, a water rich nation. This is an enjoyable and enlightening film that is sobering yet uplifting, and leaves one with the sense that more Maude Barlows are needed in this world.' Justin Sheffield, Research Scholar, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University, co-Author, Drought: Past Problems and Future Scenarios
'An artful and interesting story about the value of and challenge associated with protecting water on this planet...Most people around the world have no real experience with the beautiful scenery portrayed in the film and we must find a way to better connect the people to this watery planet. This film is a step in that direction. The portrayal of Maude Barlow herself in this film was touching and you got a sense of who she was. I have heard her described by many as a zealot, fanatic, and devotee. Yet what would the world be like if we had no one to advocate for key beliefs and values such as protection of our environment? As we continue to reach toward democratization of the world, to examine and promote human rights, to strive toward a world with energy and food security, we should cherish that which gives life to this planet, water and we should respect and honor those like Maude Barlow who make us think about a future and pathway forward.' Dr. Joan Rose, Chair, Water Research, Director, The Water Quality, Environmental, and Molecular Microbiology Laboratory, Michigan State University
'Barlow's battle is not a simple semantic debate: A human need can still be commoditized, whereas if water is declared a human right, it can no longer be sold, traded, or denied to those who cannot afford it...The milestone reached since filming--in 2010, the United States voted for a resolution to recognize water and sanitation as a human right--is a rare happy ending, and proof that environmental change can happen before it's too late.' Brittany Shoot, Bitch Magazine
'Powerful message...A hard-hitting look at an issue that will only become more pressing as increasing population, desertification, climate change, and other ecological issues place human access to water in ever-greater jeopardy.' The Midwest Book Review
'The heart of this film resides in the fact that the United States is not being impacted negatively. Since the wastewater from crude bitumen extraction flows north toward the Arctic Ocean, the United States remains unaffected. Nonetheless, those to the north of this enterprise (those with little leverage) are experiencing increased cancer-rates...This is not a passive documentary about the past. People currently suffer.' Indigenous People, Issues, and Resources
'Barlow is a ferociously committed, politically savvy, world-renowned human rights activist and author, often referred to as 'the Ralph Nader of Canada.'...A very well-made and engaging documentary. Recommended.' Gary Handman, University of California Berkeley, Educational Media Reviews Online
'Water is life. It's not like a debate about running shoes or oil. It's a debate about life. We all need water to survive.' Toronto Magazine
'Marshall has captured an unforgettable portrait of a woman on a mission and created an alarming documentary that will make you want to get up and do something about the water crisis.' Ryerson Free Press
'Exceptionally well done, and extremely informative, I would definitely recommend this film to anyone and everyone. Because in the 21st century where the term 'blue gold' holds more weight and significance than virtually any other, we must all raise our consciousness to this critical issue at hand and work together to protect our most vital natural resource, as well as our natural right to water. Our very futures, and those of our children, may wholly depend on it.' Niagra at Large
'Director Marshall delivers a great portrait, while also giving voice to the many counter-arguments, for a balanced but ultimately persuasive plea for Barlow's case that potable water be included as a human right.' EYE Magazine
'Although many companies refused to take part in the film, the film provides shocking facts and compelling visuals. It will become difficult for corporations to continue to ignore the masses of people alongside the fence at Dump Site 41 and the powerful native voices protesting Alberta's tar sands.' The LINK
'Marshall's own instincts, specifically her decision to make water a character in her film - beautifully composed and shot by cinematographer Steve Cosens...helps the audience to appreciate the magnitude of what's at stake...Indeed, Water on the Table scores on several fronts.' TO Live With Culture
'Marshall wants Water on the Table to have the same effect on its viewers as it did on her. 'I'm more aware of conservation, that the water flowing from my tap is a privilege.'' The Concordian
'Though it could be seen as a manifesto, Water on the Table backs up every argument and point of social justice with facts.' Ottawa Citizen
'A documentary that's pointed but visually sumptuous and poetic.' The Globe and Mail
'The idea is a strong one and the debates compelling, but does it make good cinema? The answer is yes...It's shot as a poetic ode to the element, making its beauty the real subject of the film. Almost all the shots include water in some way, to emphasize its ubiquitous nature on our lives.' Art and Culture Maven
'It's hard enough to wrap my brain around the environmental catastrophe that is the Alberta Tar Sands, but when you learn that three million barrels of water are destroyed daily to extract oil from that place, the breadth of the devastation is much more clear. For every barrel of oil extracted, three to five barrels of water are destroyed. The film makes it clear that the water is completely ruined and should not be finding its way back into the local water table. Sadly, it does and we're seeing the resulting blight on the health and wellness of river communities in northern Alberta now.' Melanie Redman, rabble.ca
Citation
Main credits
Marshall, Liz (film director)
Marshall, Liz (film producer)
Marshall, Liz (screenwriter)
Other credits
Cinematographer, Steve Cosens, Liz Marshall; film editor, Jeremiah Munce; music, Jennifer Moore, Mark Shannon.
Distributor subjects
Activism; American Studies; Anthropology; Biography; Canadian Studies; Citizenship and Civics; Climate Change/Global Warming; Ecology; Economics; Energy; Environment; Environmental Engineering; Environmental Justice; Geography; Global Issues; Health; Human Rights; Indigenous Peoples; International Trade; Law; Native Americans; Natural Resources; Social Justice; Sociology; Sustainability; Water; Women's StudiesKeywords
WEBVTT
00:00:58.733 --> 00:01:04.733
[woman vocalizing]
00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:29.166
- Water justice
00:01:29.167 --> 00:01:31.832
is the right
of every living being on Earth
00:01:31.833 --> 00:01:33.666
and the right
of the Earth itself
00:01:33.667 --> 00:01:36.533
to have water
for sustainable life.
00:01:53.000 --> 00:01:55.999
We need new laws
to regulate human behavior
00:01:56.000 --> 00:01:57.499
in order
to protect the integrity
00:01:57.500 --> 00:01:59.999
of the Earth
and all species on it
00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:02.667
from our wanton exploitation.
00:02:08.267 --> 00:02:11.933
This is my life\'s mission
in the years I have left.
00:02:17.033 --> 00:02:18.699
As Martin Luther King said,
00:02:18.700 --> 00:02:20.699
\"The law may not change
the heart,
00:02:20.700 --> 00:02:23.533
but it will restrain
the heartless.\"
00:02:28.500 --> 00:02:31.500
Rivers have rights
to flow to the sea.
00:02:42.267 --> 00:02:46.499
- Delegates are reminded
that the plenary meeting
00:02:46.500 --> 00:02:48.632
to observe the 60th anniversary
00:02:48.633 --> 00:02:51.032
of the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights
00:02:51.033 --> 00:02:55.866
will begin at 3:00 p.m.
in the General Assembly Hall.
00:02:55.867 --> 00:02:58.032
The panel is now concluded.
00:02:58.033 --> 00:02:59.033
[gavel tapping]
00:02:59.034 --> 00:03:00.533
- Thank you for those words.
00:03:07.567 --> 00:03:09.900
Okay.
Where do I go?
00:03:12.933 --> 00:03:14.266
- Maude?
- Yes.
00:03:14.267 --> 00:03:15.267
- How are you?
00:03:15.268 --> 00:03:16.432
- Diego.
Good, good, good.
00:03:16.433 --> 00:03:18.032
- At what time you will come
for the thing?
00:03:18.033 --> 00:03:19.432
- Right back.
We\'ll be back at 3:00.
00:03:19.433 --> 00:03:20.599
Where will I come?
The main...
00:03:20.600 --> 00:03:22.099
- You are now
going to the interviews?
00:03:22.100 --> 00:03:23.632
- We\'re going...
Yes, \"Time\" magazine,
00:03:23.633 --> 00:03:24.633
and then we\'ll be back.
00:03:24.633 --> 00:03:25.633
- He means for the movie.
00:03:25.634 --> 00:03:26.899
What time can we come get you?
00:03:26.900 --> 00:03:28.166
- Oh, yeah,
I\'ll be back at 3:00.
00:03:28.167 --> 00:03:30.566
- I will meet
all the people at 4:30.
00:03:30.567 --> 00:03:32.266
- Bless you.
We\'ll be back at 3:00.
00:03:32.267 --> 00:03:34.366
Now, how will I find you?
Where will you be?
00:03:34.367 --> 00:03:36.232
- I\'ll be here
in the office, so...
00:03:36.233 --> 00:03:38.299
- Okay, Denise, we\'re ready.
00:03:38.300 --> 00:03:40.132
\"The New York Times\"
is interested too.
00:03:40.133 --> 00:03:42.299
I mean, I was on Fox News
this morning.
00:03:42.300 --> 00:03:44.366
And everybody\'s been very kind.
00:03:44.367 --> 00:03:47.099
It\'s been a very un...
What\'s the word...
00:03:47.100 --> 00:03:48.432
Uncritical kind of thing.
00:03:48.433 --> 00:03:49.433
It\'s been really...
00:03:49.434 --> 00:03:50.766
Like, people are ready for this.
00:03:50.767 --> 00:03:52.099
There\'s something...
00:03:52.100 --> 00:03:53.899
There\'s been something very...
I don\'t know.
00:03:53.900 --> 00:03:55.066
Even Fox News was...
00:03:55.067 --> 00:03:57.232
She said, \"Well,
this is so important.\"
00:03:57.233 --> 00:04:00.099
[water trickling]
00:04:00.100 --> 00:04:06.099
[soft piano music]
00:04:06.100 --> 00:04:08.932
As a Canadian, quite frankly,
I\'m embarrassed
00:04:08.933 --> 00:04:11.432
by the way our governments,
collectively,
00:04:11.433 --> 00:04:13.599
have mishandled water,
taken it for granted.
00:04:13.600 --> 00:04:15.600
I call it
\"the myth of abundance.\"
00:04:43.467 --> 00:04:44.799
We\'re a country
that\'s been given
00:04:44.800 --> 00:04:47.032
this gift of water
00:04:47.033 --> 00:04:48.699
and a gift of wealth,
00:04:48.700 --> 00:04:51.367
and we\'ve used our water
to make wealth.
00:04:56.067 --> 00:04:58.732
I argue that
then we owe something
00:04:58.733 --> 00:04:59.733
back to the world,
00:04:59.734 --> 00:05:01.399
both in taking care of our water
00:05:01.400 --> 00:05:04.732
but also in taking the kinds
of stands internationally
00:05:04.733 --> 00:05:08.732
to help other people
protect their water.
00:05:08.733 --> 00:05:11.132
Canadians are going
to have to answer the question,
00:05:11.133 --> 00:05:14.232
\"Have we looked after
this precious heritage?
00:05:14.233 --> 00:05:17.433
And if not,
what right do we have to it?\"
00:05:20.633 --> 00:05:24.766
all: The people, united,
will never be defeated!
00:05:24.767 --> 00:05:27.799
The people, united,
will never be defeated!
00:05:27.800 --> 00:05:29.166
- Stop the...
00:05:29.167 --> 00:05:30.199
all: Tar sands!
00:05:30.200 --> 00:05:31.200
- Stop the...
00:05:31.200 --> 00:05:32.200
all: Tar sands!
00:05:32.201 --> 00:05:33.266
- What do we want?
00:05:33.267 --> 00:05:34.599
All: No new approvals!
00:05:34.600 --> 00:05:35.766
- When do we want it?
00:05:35.767 --> 00:05:36.799
All: Now!
00:05:36.800 --> 00:05:38.832
- We care about the land.
00:05:38.833 --> 00:05:41.499
We care about the trees.
00:05:41.500 --> 00:05:43.499
We care about the wetlands.
00:05:43.500 --> 00:05:45.866
We care about the animals.
00:05:45.867 --> 00:05:46.932
All: Yes!
00:05:46.933 --> 00:05:48.266
- We care about justice.
00:05:48.267 --> 00:05:49.332
All: Yes!
00:05:49.333 --> 00:05:51.666
- What we lack
is political leadership,
00:05:51.667 --> 00:05:54.332
political courage,
and political leaders
00:05:54.333 --> 00:05:55.832
who won\'t even stop lying to us.
00:05:55.833 --> 00:05:56.833
And let me tell you,
00:05:56.834 --> 00:05:58.166
they are lying
when they tell you
00:05:58.167 --> 00:05:59.332
that the tar sands are safe.
00:05:59.333 --> 00:06:00.999
They are not safe
for the people there!
00:06:01.000 --> 00:06:02.999
[cheers and applause]
00:06:03.000 --> 00:06:04.999
So this is a revolution
in this province,
00:06:05.000 --> 00:06:06.166
in this country.
00:06:06.167 --> 00:06:07.999
And I am telling you,
we will not give up.
00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:11.100
[cheers and applause]
00:06:14.300 --> 00:06:16.066
- The process started before
00:06:16.067 --> 00:06:19.299
the county took over
waste management in the 1990s.
00:06:19.300 --> 00:06:22.132
It actually started in 1979...
00:06:22.133 --> 00:06:23.133
- Excuse me, sir.
00:06:23.134 --> 00:06:24.699
- And has been something
going on since.
00:06:24.700 --> 00:06:26.566
- Excuse me,
with great due respect,
00:06:26.567 --> 00:06:28.732
um, I think an awful lot of us
in this room
00:06:28.733 --> 00:06:30.932
have come to have a dialogue.
00:06:30.933 --> 00:06:32.832
And this doesn\'t feel
very much like a dialogue,
00:06:32.833 --> 00:06:34.399
and we wondered
if we could open this up
00:06:34.400 --> 00:06:35.899
to a discussion, which I think
00:06:35.900 --> 00:06:38.399
is what we understood
was going to happen here today.
00:06:38.400 --> 00:06:41.566
[crowd murmuring]
00:06:41.567 --> 00:06:44.232
- Walk out?
00:06:44.233 --> 00:06:48.433
- Let\'s have
our meeting outside!
00:06:52.267 --> 00:06:58.267
[plaintive flute music]
00:06:59.767 --> 00:07:02.766
Every single time
I write a book, I find God.
00:07:02.767 --> 00:07:05.266
I pray to God, whoever God is,
00:07:05.267 --> 00:07:08.266
to write this book for me,
to give me a break.
00:07:08.267 --> 00:07:10.399
And I swear
I\'ll never do it again.
00:07:10.400 --> 00:07:12.399
I\'m always going,
\"We need research on this.\"
00:07:12.400 --> 00:07:13.566
- Right.
00:07:13.567 --> 00:07:15.399
- There\'s a hole
in our thinking here.
00:07:15.400 --> 00:07:17.232
And that is... that...
That obsess...
00:07:17.233 --> 00:07:19.366
That\'s the thing
that obsesses me.
00:07:19.367 --> 00:07:22.366
And the worrying,
the obsessing 24 hours a day,
00:07:22.367 --> 00:07:23.699
I can\'t imagine...
00:07:23.700 --> 00:07:25.532
I\'d love to give that away.
00:07:25.533 --> 00:07:28.366
- [laughs]
00:07:28.367 --> 00:07:30.199
- But I don\'t know
how that would happen.
00:07:30.200 --> 00:07:32.899
That\'s my personality.
I\'m a total type A.
00:07:32.900 --> 00:07:34.733
- Right.
00:08:05.567 --> 00:08:06.732
- Nellie McClung said,
00:08:06.733 --> 00:08:08.532
\"No one likes an alarm clock
in action,\"
00:08:08.533 --> 00:08:11.032
and I think she knew
00:08:11.033 --> 00:08:13.032
I was gonna be in the world
one day
00:08:13.033 --> 00:08:15.866
when she said that.
00:08:15.867 --> 00:08:19.599
- I am told that
at the United Nations,
00:08:19.600 --> 00:08:25.399
we\'re in the midst
of the third water decade.
00:08:25.400 --> 00:08:30.232
So I never dreamt
that Maude would be now
00:08:30.233 --> 00:08:33.066
with us in this task
00:08:33.067 --> 00:08:36.732
that all of the sudden
fell upon me,
00:08:36.733 --> 00:08:38.732
hoping and praying
00:08:38.733 --> 00:08:43.532
that she would become
my chief advisor,
00:08:43.533 --> 00:08:46.499
senior advisor
on the issue of water.
00:08:46.500 --> 00:08:48.532
We\'re extremely happy
to have you with us.
00:08:48.533 --> 00:08:50.032
- I\'m extremely happy
to be here.
00:08:50.033 --> 00:08:51.366
The honor is mine.
- No.
00:08:51.367 --> 00:08:52.532
- The honor is mine.
00:08:52.533 --> 00:08:54.232
- Thank you.
00:08:54.233 --> 00:08:55.432
- This is a moment
00:08:55.433 --> 00:08:57.899
for us to make some decisions
about what...
00:08:57.900 --> 00:08:58.999
Are we gonna go soft
00:08:59.000 --> 00:09:00.466
or are we gonna go
a little bit harder?
00:09:00.467 --> 00:09:02.632
- We are not saying that
there\'s no place for business.
00:09:02.633 --> 00:09:03.866
But the thing is that
00:09:03.867 --> 00:09:06.199
we have to define
exactly what that place is
00:09:06.200 --> 00:09:09.532
so that it doesn\'t go against
the rights of people.
00:09:09.533 --> 00:09:10.866
- And I can write this out
for you
00:09:10.867 --> 00:09:13.032
when you say this,
because I know...
00:09:13.033 --> 00:09:14.866
- In one page.
- Yes, I can do that.
00:09:14.867 --> 00:09:18.366
- So I will take that
on my trip when I go now.
00:09:18.367 --> 00:09:20.266
- Yes, because it\'s
a nonconfrontational way
00:09:20.267 --> 00:09:21.599
of opening the dialogue.
00:09:21.600 --> 00:09:23.199
You\'re not saying
there\'s no possible...
00:09:23.200 --> 00:09:24.766
- Confrontation
won\'t get us anywhere.
00:09:24.767 --> 00:09:25.899
- No.
00:09:25.900 --> 00:09:27.966
- You mentioned this, um...
- Tar sands.
00:09:27.967 --> 00:09:30.466
- Development program that...
Are they tar pits?
00:09:30.467 --> 00:09:31.799
Pit mines?
00:09:31.800 --> 00:09:32.866
- In northern Alberta,
00:09:32.867 --> 00:09:34.932
which isn\'t all that far
from Alaska,
00:09:34.933 --> 00:09:38.566
is the world\'s biggest oil find.
00:09:38.567 --> 00:09:40.799
The tar sands.
They call them the tar sands.
00:09:40.800 --> 00:09:42.599
For every barrel of oil
00:09:42.600 --> 00:09:44.632
they\'re able to extract
from the tar sands,
00:09:44.633 --> 00:09:47.966
they destroy three to five
barrels of water.
00:09:47.967 --> 00:09:49.099
And they\'re destroying
00:09:49.100 --> 00:09:50.766
3 million barrels of water
a day now,
00:09:50.767 --> 00:09:54.332
but they plan to expand it
four to five times.
00:09:54.333 --> 00:09:55.832
They\'ve killed a boreal forest
00:09:55.833 --> 00:09:57.166
the size of Greece.
00:09:57.167 --> 00:09:59.432
It\'s going to become
the biggest site
00:09:59.433 --> 00:10:01.099
of greenhouse gas emissions
in the world
00:10:01.100 --> 00:10:02.132
within ten years.
00:10:02.133 --> 00:10:03.799
It is an appalling thing.
00:10:03.800 --> 00:10:05.799
I flew over it
several weeks ago.
00:10:05.800 --> 00:10:08.799
I called it
\"Canada\'s Mordor\" from Tolkien,
00:10:08.800 --> 00:10:10.466
and the press all picked it up,
00:10:10.467 --> 00:10:14.466
and now everybody\'s
referring to it as Mordor.
00:10:14.467 --> 00:10:17.467
[train rumbling]
00:10:21.633 --> 00:10:22.966
Fellow water warriors,
00:10:22.967 --> 00:10:25.132
I just want to welcome
everybody this morning.
00:10:25.133 --> 00:10:27.299
We\'re off on
an incredible adventure.
00:10:27.300 --> 00:10:29.366
We\'re going to go see
what they\'re doing
00:10:29.367 --> 00:10:31.166
to the tar sands
up in northern Alberta
00:10:31.167 --> 00:10:33.166
so that we can supply
the United States
00:10:33.167 --> 00:10:34.499
with all the energy it wants
00:10:34.500 --> 00:10:38.199
so that it won\'t convert
to more sustainable usage.
00:10:38.200 --> 00:10:40.632
We\'re going to feel this thing
up close and personal.
00:10:40.633 --> 00:10:42.099
It\'s not going
to be far away anymore.
00:10:42.100 --> 00:10:43.766
So it\'s an
incredibly important journey.
00:10:43.767 --> 00:10:46.266
Thank you all for being here.
00:10:46.267 --> 00:10:47.966
Now here comes the sun.
00:10:47.967 --> 00:10:50.666
Isn\'t that gorgeous?
00:10:50.667 --> 00:10:51.999
Sun always comes up.
00:10:52.000 --> 00:10:54.999
We always have another
good day to fight, eh?
00:10:55.000 --> 00:10:56.532
Well, see,
the Council of Canadians,
00:10:56.533 --> 00:10:58.132
the voice is our members.
00:10:58.133 --> 00:10:59.466
- Yeah.
00:10:59.467 --> 00:11:01.166
- It\'s... you know,
I mean, I may be, you know,
00:11:01.167 --> 00:11:02.499
more well-known
than some,
00:11:02.500 --> 00:11:04.499
but we\'ve got all these people
00:11:04.500 --> 00:11:06.832
and thousands
and thousands more.
00:11:06.833 --> 00:11:09.232
And so it\'s not
any one person\'s voice.
00:11:09.233 --> 00:11:10.432
- Yeah.
00:11:10.433 --> 00:11:11.966
- That\'s what\'s
so beautiful about it,
00:11:11.967 --> 00:11:12.967
and that\'s the model.
00:11:12.968 --> 00:11:14.032
I mean, that\'s the only way
00:11:14.033 --> 00:11:15.132
we\'re going to make change.
00:11:15.133 --> 00:11:17.132
- Yeah.
Right.
00:11:17.133 --> 00:11:20.132
- Alberta is going to be
a water have-not province.
00:11:20.133 --> 00:11:21.133
Soon.
00:11:21.134 --> 00:11:22.699
I mean, nobody can believe it,
00:11:22.700 --> 00:11:23.799
but this is a province
00:11:23.800 --> 00:11:25.467
that\'s going
to run out of water.
00:11:29.433 --> 00:11:31.766
People know the tar sands
as an energy issue
00:11:31.767 --> 00:11:33.599
and as an environmental issue,
00:11:33.600 --> 00:11:35.933
but it\'s also a water issue.
00:11:38.600 --> 00:11:41.099
What\'s happening
with the tar sands in Alberta
00:11:41.100 --> 00:11:42.766
is not just
the business of energy
00:11:42.767 --> 00:11:43.767
or business of oil.
00:11:43.768 --> 00:11:45.266
It\'s the business of water.
00:11:45.267 --> 00:11:47.666
And it\'s a way
of commodifying water
00:11:47.667 --> 00:11:48.999
and in fact giving the right
00:11:49.000 --> 00:11:51.499
to American energy companies
operating there
00:11:51.500 --> 00:11:54.133
to own and control that water.
00:11:57.900 --> 00:12:01.066
Wow, it\'s a whole city out here.
00:12:01.067 --> 00:12:03.566
Look at the cranes!
00:12:03.567 --> 00:12:05.599
Oh, my God.
00:12:05.600 --> 00:12:08.266
We\'re in wilderness,
essentially,
00:12:08.267 --> 00:12:10.099
and there\'s traffic
like the middle of Toronto
00:12:10.100 --> 00:12:13.766
in the middle of the day
or at rush hour.
00:12:13.767 --> 00:12:15.099
What is that?
00:12:15.100 --> 00:12:16.432
- I think
that\'s a tailings pond.
00:12:16.433 --> 00:12:19.932
- Is it a tailings pond?
00:12:19.933 --> 00:12:21.432
That water is too dangerous
00:12:21.433 --> 00:12:24.099
to ever go back
into the Athabasca.
00:12:24.100 --> 00:12:26.266
They say that
if the big one broke,
00:12:26.267 --> 00:12:27.932
it would destroy
the environment.
00:12:27.933 --> 00:12:30.366
It would destroy
the entire water system up here.
00:12:30.367 --> 00:12:33.699
When you stop and think
about the world water crisis
00:12:33.700 --> 00:12:36.032
and the fact that
so many parts of the world
00:12:36.033 --> 00:12:37.366
are running out of water
00:12:37.367 --> 00:12:40.866
and people
are going to be moving here,
00:12:40.867 --> 00:12:42.699
and this is what we\'re doing
with the water
00:12:42.700 --> 00:12:44.366
instead of saving it for when...
00:12:44.367 --> 00:12:45.566
- What are we going to have left
00:12:45.567 --> 00:12:46.799
when people migrate here?
00:12:46.800 --> 00:12:48.632
- When people migrate,
seriously.
00:12:48.633 --> 00:12:50.599
You\'re going to get Americans
coming up here.
00:12:50.600 --> 00:12:53.499
We\'ve got refugees
all over Africa right now from...
00:12:53.500 --> 00:12:54.766
Water refugees.
00:12:54.767 --> 00:12:57.432
They call them food refugees,
but in many cases,
00:12:57.433 --> 00:12:59.933
it\'s because there\'s no water
to grow the food with.
00:13:02.967 --> 00:13:03.967
[camera clicks]
00:13:03.968 --> 00:13:05.199
Look at the stuff in the middle.
00:13:05.200 --> 00:13:06.432
It\'s not just water.
It\'s...
00:13:06.433 --> 00:13:07.433
- Welcome to Mordor.
00:13:07.434 --> 00:13:09.767
- \"Welcome to Mordor\" is right.
00:13:12.767 --> 00:13:14.799
60%...
- 60%, yes.
00:13:14.800 --> 00:13:17.932
- Of the world\'s
energy investment is here.
00:13:17.933 --> 00:13:20.099
- Every major
multinational corporation
00:13:20.100 --> 00:13:21.932
and state-owned
oil company...
00:13:21.933 --> 00:13:22.933
- In the world.
00:13:22.934 --> 00:13:24.432
- Has got a stake in this area.
00:13:24.433 --> 00:13:25.599
- Yeah?
- Right now, yes.
00:13:25.600 --> 00:13:26.832
- Wow.
00:13:26.833 --> 00:13:29.099
- Every day, about a million
barrels of bitumen
00:13:29.100 --> 00:13:30.599
are taken out, every day, yes.
00:13:30.600 --> 00:13:33.667
- And 3 million barrels
of water are destroyed.
00:13:35.633 --> 00:13:39.466
[radio crackles]
00:13:39.467 --> 00:13:45.467
[woman vocalizing]
00:13:54.733 --> 00:13:56.400
- God, it\'s huge.
00:14:00.667 --> 00:14:02.167
- Yeah.
00:14:03.733 --> 00:14:05.733
- [indistinct]
00:14:27.000 --> 00:14:33.000
[solemn music]
00:14:42.667 --> 00:14:44.999
- Maude, how does
your new role at the UN
00:14:45.000 --> 00:14:47.266
affect what you can do
about situations
00:14:47.267 --> 00:14:48.832
like the tar sands
or that sort of thing?
00:14:48.833 --> 00:14:49.833
- Yeah, I don\'t know, yeah.
00:14:49.834 --> 00:14:51.032
- I mean, how does that change?
00:14:51.033 --> 00:14:52.466
- I don\'t know.
00:14:52.467 --> 00:14:53.799
It\'s just all kind of new.
00:14:53.800 --> 00:14:55.299
My role is really
00:14:55.300 --> 00:14:58.866
to advise the new president
of the General Assembly
00:14:58.867 --> 00:15:00.632
on the world water crisis
00:15:00.633 --> 00:15:03.066
and what the General Assembly
has to do.
00:15:03.067 --> 00:15:04.866
But I would like, for sure,
00:15:04.867 --> 00:15:08.699
to develop this possibility
to be able to take our concerns
00:15:08.700 --> 00:15:10.532
around what Canada\'s
doing to our water...
00:15:10.533 --> 00:15:12.699
In particular
to First Nations communities
00:15:12.700 --> 00:15:14.366
and particularly
the tar sands...
00:15:14.367 --> 00:15:16.132
To the floor
of the United Nations.
00:15:16.133 --> 00:15:18.632
So it\'s a very exciting
possibility.
00:15:18.633 --> 00:15:21.632
I\'ll be thinking
what steps to take next.
00:15:21.633 --> 00:15:22.799
[applause]
00:15:22.800 --> 00:15:24.966
- Hello.
My name is Mike Mercredi.
00:15:24.967 --> 00:15:26.632
I\'m a member of the ACFN,
00:15:26.633 --> 00:15:28.299
the Athabascan Chipewyan
First Nations
00:15:28.300 --> 00:15:30.799
out of Fort Chipewyan.
00:15:30.800 --> 00:15:34.032
I\'m directly affected
by the impacts of the tar sands.
00:15:34.033 --> 00:15:37.366
Fort Chip is the front lines,
the edge of Canadian Shield.
00:15:37.367 --> 00:15:39.699
We\'re basically at war.
00:15:39.700 --> 00:15:41.032
It\'s warfare.
00:15:41.033 --> 00:15:43.532
There\'s a major health crisis
going on in Chip.
00:15:43.533 --> 00:15:45.232
And this is the issue
we\'re trying to bring.
00:15:45.233 --> 00:15:47.132
This is the issue
that we want to address
00:15:47.133 --> 00:15:49.432
to the rest of the country,
to the rest of the world.
00:15:49.433 --> 00:15:50.599
We\'re facing, basically,
00:15:50.600 --> 00:15:52.932
a major, major
health catastrophe up there.
00:15:52.933 --> 00:15:53.933
And if people know it,
00:15:53.934 --> 00:15:55.766
this year, they have six cases,
00:15:55.767 --> 00:15:57.766
six cases of cancer this year
00:15:57.767 --> 00:16:00.599
in a community of 1,200.
00:16:00.600 --> 00:16:03.099
So imagine if the water
flowed the other way.
00:16:03.100 --> 00:16:04.832
So if the water flowed
into the city
00:16:04.833 --> 00:16:06.499
and people were dying
in the city,
00:16:06.500 --> 00:16:08.832
I think something would be done
about that.
00:16:08.833 --> 00:16:10.166
So that\'s all I can say
about that.
00:16:10.167 --> 00:16:11.167
The water flows north,
00:16:11.168 --> 00:16:12.499
and we have to deal with it
up there
00:16:12.500 --> 00:16:13.500
with the small community.
00:16:13.501 --> 00:16:15.332
But if the water
was flowing south,
00:16:15.333 --> 00:16:16.499
take that perspective
00:16:16.500 --> 00:16:18.199
and see what the government
would do then.
00:16:18.200 --> 00:16:21.200
[ice scraping loudly]
00:16:48.267 --> 00:16:51.267
[engine puttering]
00:16:57.767 --> 00:16:59.766
- At one time,
it was so natural for us
00:16:59.767 --> 00:17:01.932
to just dip into the water
with our cups
00:17:01.933 --> 00:17:03.432
whether we were
down by the shore
00:17:03.433 --> 00:17:05.766
or out on the river,
out on the lake,
00:17:05.767 --> 00:17:07.199
where we\'d just
take a drink of water
00:17:07.200 --> 00:17:08.366
if we\'re thirsty,
00:17:08.367 --> 00:17:09.699
just naturally do it.
00:17:09.700 --> 00:17:11.866
Now we can\'t do it,
00:17:11.867 --> 00:17:15.366
and it\'s because of influence
we feel from industry,
00:17:15.367 --> 00:17:17.866
industry pumping pollutants
00:17:17.867 --> 00:17:20.199
and all the garbage
into the rivers.
00:17:20.200 --> 00:17:22.366
And not just oil patch
industries.
00:17:22.367 --> 00:17:26.432
Any influence right
from point A, Fort Chipewyan,
00:17:26.433 --> 00:17:29.766
right to the Rocky Mountains
where the river starts,
00:17:29.767 --> 00:17:33.667
the Athabasca River,
our main water source.
00:17:40.933 --> 00:17:44.266
- And as this water
continues north
00:17:44.267 --> 00:17:46.999
and empties into
the Arctic Ocean
00:17:47.000 --> 00:17:50.666
and then disperses
over the whole continent,
00:17:50.667 --> 00:17:53.166
everybody\'s gonna feel it.
00:17:53.167 --> 00:17:54.499
It\'s not just us.
00:17:54.500 --> 00:17:57.499
We\'re just the first.
00:17:57.500 --> 00:18:02.233
So I think that this poison
that\'s in the water is global.
00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:08.367
And I think
industry is aware of it.
00:18:16.133 --> 00:18:19.133
[thunder rumbling]
00:18:20.600 --> 00:18:23.600
[dogs barking]
00:18:25.933 --> 00:18:28.933
[thunder crashing]
00:18:46.033 --> 00:18:52.100
[both speaking in Dene]
00:20:09.500 --> 00:20:12.500
[drumming and vocalizing]
00:20:27.100 --> 00:20:28.166
- The Council of Canadians
00:20:28.167 --> 00:20:30.832
is not a stranger
to controversy,
00:20:30.833 --> 00:20:32.666
because we take
a very strong stand
00:20:32.667 --> 00:20:35.666
on behalf of the public trust.
00:20:35.667 --> 00:20:38.667
[drumming and vocalizing]
00:20:44.133 --> 00:20:46.132
So as a result,
we come up against
00:20:46.133 --> 00:20:49.199
very powerful figures
and powerful interests
00:20:49.200 --> 00:20:51.032
in our country
and internationally
00:20:51.033 --> 00:20:53.199
who are not overly fond us.
00:20:53.200 --> 00:20:55.999
Not overly fond of me,
I think it would be fair to say.
00:20:56.000 --> 00:20:57.499
- We need you guys to leave.
00:20:57.500 --> 00:20:59.332
Get on your bus, please.
00:20:59.333 --> 00:21:01.499
And if you\'re taping that,
I need you to stop.
00:21:01.500 --> 00:21:03.166
- Why?
00:21:03.167 --> 00:21:04.666
What\'s the problem with...
00:21:04.667 --> 00:21:06.332
What\'s the problem with filming?
00:21:06.333 --> 00:21:08.499
- But it\'s not allowed,
pictures and all that.
00:21:08.500 --> 00:21:09.500
- How come?
00:21:09.501 --> 00:21:10.666
- What\'s the purpose?
00:21:10.667 --> 00:21:11.899
- We\'re on
a fact-finding tour.
00:21:11.900 --> 00:21:13.066
We\'re from all over...
00:21:13.067 --> 00:21:14.566
- Seriously!
I said no pictures!
00:21:14.567 --> 00:21:15.732
- We\'re from all over Canada.
00:21:15.733 --> 00:21:17.199
- Quit taking pictures!
00:21:17.200 --> 00:21:19.266
- So we\'re interested
in what you\'re doing here and...
00:21:19.267 --> 00:21:20.432
- Yeah, okay.
00:21:20.433 --> 00:21:22.099
- So we\'re trying
to learn a lot about it
00:21:22.100 --> 00:21:23.766
\'cause a lot of people
are writing about it
00:21:23.767 --> 00:21:25.266
and talking about it.
00:21:25.267 --> 00:21:27.766
- There\'s a process
that you guys can go through.
00:21:27.767 --> 00:21:31.099
I need you to get back
on that bus.
00:21:31.100 --> 00:21:32.899
- Have a nice day.
00:21:32.900 --> 00:21:35.566
I do think that we\'ve
called power for what it is,
00:21:35.567 --> 00:21:37.666
and I think that
we\'ve put the analysis
00:21:37.667 --> 00:21:40.166
of these international trade,
financial agreements,
00:21:40.167 --> 00:21:41.332
investment agreements,
00:21:41.333 --> 00:21:42.999
we\'ve put them
in a political framework
00:21:43.000 --> 00:21:44.066
that others did not want
00:21:44.067 --> 00:21:46.599
to have put in a framework
like that,
00:21:46.600 --> 00:21:48.432
and we\'ve made some enemies.
00:21:48.433 --> 00:21:49.999
\"By your enemies,
you shall know them.\"
00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:51.533
It\'s fine with me.
00:21:58.300 --> 00:22:01.766
[water trickling]
00:22:01.767 --> 00:22:03.432
[machinery whirring]
00:22:03.433 --> 00:22:06.299
There\'s a mighty struggle
taking place in the world
00:22:06.300 --> 00:22:08.966
between those who see water
as a commodity
00:22:08.967 --> 00:22:12.466
to be put on the open market
like running shoes or Coca-Cola
00:22:12.467 --> 00:22:14.199
and sold to the highest bidder,
00:22:14.200 --> 00:22:15.699
and those on the other who say,
00:22:15.700 --> 00:22:17.766
\"No, it\'s part
of our common heritage.
00:22:17.767 --> 00:22:19.366
\"It\'s a public trust.
00:22:19.367 --> 00:22:21.632
\"It belongs to other species,
00:22:21.633 --> 00:22:23.299
\"and it belongs
to future generations
00:22:23.300 --> 00:22:25.299
as much as it belongs
to this one.\"
00:22:25.300 --> 00:22:27.132
And we believe that
we need to put
00:22:27.133 --> 00:22:29.299
a set of priorities
placed on that water
00:22:29.300 --> 00:22:30.999
within public governance.
00:22:31.000 --> 00:22:34.999
Now, these are very, very
strongly opposing positions,
00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:37.832
and what I\'m seeing is that
those positions are hardening
00:22:37.833 --> 00:22:39.332
as it becomes more clear
00:22:39.333 --> 00:22:41.266
that the world
truly is running out of water.
00:22:41.267 --> 00:22:43.099
And there\'s a scramble
00:22:43.100 --> 00:22:45.432
for who\'s going
to make decisions
00:22:45.433 --> 00:22:48.067
around the allocation
of what\'s left.
00:23:09.800 --> 00:23:14.466
- Well, the divide between
the different ideologies,
00:23:14.467 --> 00:23:17.132
the two main clashing
ideologies, if you will,
00:23:17.133 --> 00:23:18.966
in the water business
00:23:18.967 --> 00:23:24.299
seems to be
almost a religious divide
00:23:24.300 --> 00:23:26.966
in that Maude Barlow,
00:23:26.967 --> 00:23:30.466
to pick an example
of one extreme,
00:23:30.467 --> 00:23:35.832
chooses to portray water
as part of a godlike nature.
00:23:35.833 --> 00:23:37.866
- It is absolutely true
00:23:37.867 --> 00:23:41.499
that there is a new
consciousness, if you will.
00:23:41.500 --> 00:23:43.832
And you\'ll see it first within
First Nations communities,
00:23:43.833 --> 00:23:45.666
indigenous communities, women.
00:23:45.667 --> 00:23:47.432
A lot of young people
00:23:47.433 --> 00:23:49.432
are articulating
this very different view.
00:23:49.433 --> 00:23:50.499
- And it essentially puts...
00:23:50.500 --> 00:23:51.832
As a starting point, it puts man
00:23:51.833 --> 00:23:55.066
as sort of the secondary person.
00:23:55.067 --> 00:23:58.232
It\'s extreme,
and it\'s also, I think, absurd.
00:23:58.233 --> 00:24:01.066
The other side
of the ideological divide
00:24:01.067 --> 00:24:06.466
is to see water as part
of the natural resources
00:24:06.467 --> 00:24:09.966
that exist on the planet,
00:24:09.967 --> 00:24:13.632
not much different
from gold or oil or land
00:24:13.633 --> 00:24:16.132
or any other commodity.
00:24:16.133 --> 00:24:17.299
From that perspective,
00:24:17.300 --> 00:24:21.466
it\'s just another thing
that is useable.
00:24:21.467 --> 00:24:23.299
- You cannot live
without clean water.
00:24:23.300 --> 00:24:25.799
And to say that it\'s just
a resource like any other,
00:24:25.800 --> 00:24:27.466
I think, is not to understand
00:24:27.467 --> 00:24:30.632
the essential part
that water plays
00:24:30.633 --> 00:24:32.399
in the lifeblood of the Earth.
00:24:32.400 --> 00:24:33.566
It is the Earth\'s lifeblood.
00:24:33.567 --> 00:24:35.066
We hurt it, we hurt ourselves.
00:24:35.067 --> 00:24:38.732
We hurt the Earth.
00:24:38.733 --> 00:24:41.899
- I think it should become
a very complicated,
00:24:41.900 --> 00:24:44.732
sophisticated,
multidimensional business
00:24:44.733 --> 00:24:46.799
like any other.
00:24:46.800 --> 00:24:48.132
There is no particular reason
00:24:48.133 --> 00:24:51.132
Canadians should want to sit
on this pile of water
00:24:51.133 --> 00:24:54.332
and say,
\"You can\'t have our water.\"
00:24:54.333 --> 00:24:55.499
- The market works this way:
00:24:55.500 --> 00:24:57.499
it goes to where
people can afford it.
00:24:57.500 --> 00:25:00.332
Those who can buy it
and who can buy a lot of it
00:25:00.333 --> 00:25:01.333
get to do that.
00:25:01.333 --> 00:25:02.333
They get it buy it.
00:25:02.333 --> 00:25:03.333
They get to trade it.
00:25:03.334 --> 00:25:04.632
They get to hoard it.
00:25:04.633 --> 00:25:06.666
They get to set a price
that others can\'t afford,
00:25:06.667 --> 00:25:09.966
which means that if you\'re not
in that category, you die.
00:25:09.967 --> 00:25:14.967
- I mean, it is so obvious
that human beings use nature.
00:25:17.867 --> 00:25:20.032
They\'ve just been doing it
since day one,
00:25:20.033 --> 00:25:23.366
whenever day one occurred.
00:25:23.367 --> 00:25:26.366
Whenever humans
became capable of thinking
00:25:26.367 --> 00:25:28.699
and rationally working their way
00:25:28.700 --> 00:25:31.532
through an understanding
of their environment,
00:25:31.533 --> 00:25:33.632
they have been using nature.
00:25:33.633 --> 00:25:36.633
[man speaking indistinctly
over radio]
00:25:41.333 --> 00:25:47.400
[woman vocalizing]
00:25:59.233 --> 00:26:05.233
[vocalizing continues]
00:26:17.033 --> 00:26:20.033
[water trickling]
00:27:09.733 --> 00:27:12.400
[bird trills]
00:27:19.900 --> 00:27:23.566
- 104.1,
The DOCK in Midland.
00:27:23.567 --> 00:27:26.032
Okay, my dear,
I\'m ready any time you are.
00:27:26.033 --> 00:27:28.199
- I think Site 41 kind of...
00:27:28.200 --> 00:27:29.866
It just has a silly history
00:27:29.867 --> 00:27:31.699
that somebody said yes
a long time ago,
00:27:31.700 --> 00:27:33.432
and nobody has the guts
to say no now.
00:27:33.433 --> 00:27:34.433
I shouldn\'t say nobody.
00:27:34.434 --> 00:27:35.932
Lots of people want to say no.
00:27:35.933 --> 00:27:38.999
I mean, it\'s such a...
It\'s such an incredible story,
00:27:39.000 --> 00:27:41.799
that it has been named
by this university
00:27:41.800 --> 00:27:43.299
in Heidelberg as the...
00:27:43.300 --> 00:27:45.632
Potentially, the cleanest water
in the whole world,
00:27:45.633 --> 00:27:47.199
which, of course,
makes me nervous
00:27:47.200 --> 00:27:48.766
\'cause all the bottled water
companies
00:27:48.767 --> 00:27:50.467
are going to come in for it.
00:27:54.267 --> 00:27:56.432
- You are such an inspiration.
00:27:56.433 --> 00:27:58.066
If you could be prime minister,
00:27:58.067 --> 00:27:59.399
the world would be
a better place.
00:27:59.400 --> 00:28:00.400
- Aw, that\'s very nice.
00:28:00.401 --> 00:28:01.699
I thank you very much.
00:28:01.700 --> 00:28:03.699
I\'d rather do this
than be prime minister, though.
00:28:03.700 --> 00:28:05.266
- Hi.
Good to see you.
00:28:05.267 --> 00:28:06.267
- Hi.
00:28:06.268 --> 00:28:07.599
- Maude Barlow!
00:28:07.600 --> 00:28:09.432
- I\'m Erica Bukowski.
00:28:09.433 --> 00:28:11.432
I have been
a big supporter of yours.
00:28:11.433 --> 00:28:14.099
- I\'ve been wanting
to meet you so many times,
00:28:14.100 --> 00:28:15.432
and I always miss you.
00:28:15.433 --> 00:28:17.332
- Well, I\'m here.
- Glad you\'re here.
00:28:17.333 --> 00:28:21.099
- If you ask yourself,
\"Why is this happening?\"
00:28:21.100 --> 00:28:22.432
There\'s a reason.
00:28:22.433 --> 00:28:24.666
It\'s very simple in our minds,
00:28:24.667 --> 00:28:26.499
if you think about it.
00:28:26.500 --> 00:28:29.199
Somebody is making
a lot of money.
00:28:29.200 --> 00:28:30.866
It\'s a corporation.
00:28:30.867 --> 00:28:32.999
They\'re stealing
our children\'s life.
00:28:33.000 --> 00:28:34.199
[applause]
00:28:34.200 --> 00:28:36.199
They\'re stealing
our children\'s water.
00:28:36.200 --> 00:28:40.032
I\'m here as a Mohawk
with my brother and my sister,
00:28:40.033 --> 00:28:43.032
with you as a spiritual force.
00:28:43.033 --> 00:28:45.366
We are a spiritual force
together.
00:28:45.367 --> 00:28:48.599
We are useless
apart from each other.
00:28:48.600 --> 00:28:50.299
I thank you again.
00:28:50.300 --> 00:28:53.300
[steady drumming]
00:28:56.867 --> 00:29:00.232
[police radio crackles]
00:29:00.233 --> 00:29:02.232
- We all need clean water
to survive.
00:29:02.233 --> 00:29:04.899
So why does Simcoe County
want to build a landfill
00:29:04.900 --> 00:29:07.299
on top of the Alliston Aquifer?
00:29:07.300 --> 00:29:09.632
Landfills can leak
toxins and pollutants
00:29:09.633 --> 00:29:10.799
into water tables,
00:29:10.800 --> 00:29:13.299
threatening people,
livestock, and wildlife
00:29:13.300 --> 00:29:14.632
for generations.
00:29:14.633 --> 00:29:16.599
That\'s a risk
we can\'t afford to take.
00:29:16.600 --> 00:29:18.632
Call, email, or speak
to your councillor before...
00:29:18.633 --> 00:29:22.566
[man and woman singing]
We shall not be moved.
00:29:22.567 --> 00:29:24.066
We\'re going to stop the dump,
00:29:24.067 --> 00:29:26.066
and we shall not be moved.
00:29:26.067 --> 00:29:27.732
We\'re going to stop the dump,
00:29:27.733 --> 00:29:29.399
and we shall not be moved.
00:29:29.400 --> 00:29:34.266
Just like the tree
that\'s standing by the water,
00:29:34.267 --> 00:29:37.267
we shall not be moved.
00:29:41.800 --> 00:29:43.099
- As this grows,
00:29:43.100 --> 00:29:45.599
we\'re going to get
more publicity, I promise.
00:29:45.600 --> 00:29:46.932
Yeah.
00:29:46.933 --> 00:29:48.432
Oh, yeah, we\'ll come back.
00:29:48.433 --> 00:29:51.267
I mean, the next time,
it\'ll be twice as big.
00:29:57.267 --> 00:29:59.932
This feels like a lot
of the marches I\'ve been on
00:29:59.933 --> 00:30:03.099
in Latin America
and Asia and Africa.
00:30:03.100 --> 00:30:06.299
Like, it doesn\'t feel
any different.
00:30:06.300 --> 00:30:12.300
[peaceful piano music]
00:30:16.900 --> 00:30:18.732
To the water of life.
00:30:18.733 --> 00:30:20.566
To the water
of this beautiful county
00:30:20.567 --> 00:30:22.066
and Tiny Township.
00:30:22.067 --> 00:30:24.566
We\'re going to keep you pure.
00:30:24.567 --> 00:30:26.399
- Bravo.
00:30:26.400 --> 00:30:29.066
- Mmm.
That\'s gorgeous water.
00:30:29.067 --> 00:30:30.332
Beautiful.
00:30:30.333 --> 00:30:32.666
Wow, look at all these people!
00:30:32.667 --> 00:30:36.999
[faint drumming,
indistinct conversation]
00:30:37.000 --> 00:30:39.499
Gosh, look at this.
00:30:39.500 --> 00:30:41.332
The cars go all the way
down there
00:30:41.333 --> 00:30:42.499
and all the way down there.
00:30:42.500 --> 00:30:44.499
Look at the crowd.
00:30:44.500 --> 00:30:46.566
This is wonderful.
00:30:46.567 --> 00:30:49.232
Danny, look at the people.
00:30:49.233 --> 00:30:50.566
It\'s a miracle.
00:30:50.567 --> 00:30:53.299
[woman speaking indistinctly
over police radio]
00:30:53.300 --> 00:30:59.032
[woman singing
along to drumming]
00:30:59.033 --> 00:31:00.866
[singing together]
We are the women,
00:31:00.867 --> 00:31:03.699
keepers of water.
00:31:03.700 --> 00:31:05.032
Grandmothers taught us
00:31:05.033 --> 00:31:08.566
to move through this world
with care.
00:31:08.567 --> 00:31:13.232
The voice of unborn sons
and daughters,
00:31:13.233 --> 00:31:15.566
cradled by our Mother Earth,
00:31:15.567 --> 00:31:19.232
waiting for their share
00:31:19.233 --> 00:31:25.067
and all her care...
00:31:26.700 --> 00:31:28.966
Cradled by our Mother Earth,
00:31:28.967 --> 00:31:32.799
waiting for their share
00:31:32.800 --> 00:31:40.300
and all her care.
00:31:44.100 --> 00:31:45.266
- Wow.
00:31:45.267 --> 00:31:46.432
[cheers and applause]
00:31:46.433 --> 00:31:48.599
It is not too late
to stop this dump site.
00:31:48.600 --> 00:31:49.766
I promise you,
00:31:49.767 --> 00:31:51.266
I will be back
and back and back,
00:31:51.267 --> 00:31:53.132
and I will bring
lots of people with me
00:31:53.133 --> 00:31:54.799
and lots of media with me.
00:31:54.800 --> 00:31:58.299
[cheers and applause]
00:31:58.300 --> 00:32:00.799
It is never too late to say
00:32:00.800 --> 00:32:03.132
that we\'re going to save
this wonderful Mother Earth.
00:32:03.133 --> 00:32:05.266
It is always too early
to give up.
00:32:05.267 --> 00:32:06.766
The politicians are embarrassed
00:32:06.767 --> 00:32:08.099
that they said yes to this.
00:32:08.100 --> 00:32:10.732
They have absolutely no reason
00:32:10.733 --> 00:32:11.899
that they can give you
00:32:11.900 --> 00:32:13.066
because there isn\'t a reason
00:32:13.067 --> 00:32:15.232
why this dump site
is being opened.
00:32:15.233 --> 00:32:16.899
The water is
the cleanest, sweetest,
00:32:16.900 --> 00:32:18.732
most beautiful water
in the world.
00:32:18.733 --> 00:32:20.566
We don\'t need this site.
00:32:20.567 --> 00:32:22.399
There is no reason for this site
00:32:22.400 --> 00:32:23.566
except they just decided
00:32:23.567 --> 00:32:25.232
they didn\'t know how to say no.
00:32:25.233 --> 00:32:27.399
Well, we\'ll tell them.
No!
00:32:27.400 --> 00:32:29.799
No to this site,
and we\'ll be back!
00:32:29.800 --> 00:32:32.800
[cheers and applause]
00:32:38.800 --> 00:32:40.466
- Well, that was a good speech.
00:32:40.467 --> 00:32:42.966
[laughter]
00:32:42.967 --> 00:32:44.632
I\'m going to...
00:32:44.633 --> 00:32:47.366
I\'m gonna have Cindy
wrap this up.
00:32:47.367 --> 00:32:51.199
I want you to know
that in the year of 2000,
00:32:51.200 --> 00:32:55.867
the county of Simcoe
voted to select...
00:33:00.700 --> 00:33:03.699
- The question of whether
water is a human right is...
00:33:03.700 --> 00:33:05.532
It\'s not a semantic debate.
00:33:05.533 --> 00:33:07.699
You get people
who say it\'s a human need.
00:33:07.700 --> 00:33:10.199
Why do you need
to designate it a human right?
00:33:10.200 --> 00:33:11.699
And here\'s why.
00:33:11.700 --> 00:33:14.532
If it\'s a human need,
it can be delivered
00:33:14.533 --> 00:33:17.032
by the public sector
or the private sector
00:33:17.033 --> 00:33:18.699
on a for-profit basis.
00:33:18.700 --> 00:33:21.032
If it\'s a human right,
you cannot sell it.
00:33:21.033 --> 00:33:22.532
You cannot trade it.
00:33:22.533 --> 00:33:24.532
And you cannot deny it
to someone
00:33:24.533 --> 00:33:28.033
because they do not have money
to pay for it.
00:33:30.533 --> 00:33:33.533
[water crashing]
00:33:38.767 --> 00:33:41.099
My commitment to water
began, really,
00:33:41.100 --> 00:33:43.266
with commitment
to Canada\'s water
00:33:43.267 --> 00:33:46.099
when we fought the inclusion
of water as a tradable good
00:33:46.100 --> 00:33:47.999
in the first
free trade agreement,
00:33:48.000 --> 00:33:49.499
the one that preceded NAFTA.
00:33:49.500 --> 00:33:51.666
It was called the Canada-U.S.
Free Trade Agreement.
00:33:51.667 --> 00:33:54.166
And we said, \"Take it out,\"
00:33:54.167 --> 00:33:56.499
because we were signing
a free trade agreement
00:33:56.500 --> 00:33:57.832
with a superpower.
00:33:57.833 --> 00:33:59.899
Not only did they not;
they kept it in in NAFTA,
00:33:59.900 --> 00:34:03.233
and then they added
new dimensions to it.
00:34:11.667 --> 00:34:14.332
The debate about
bulk water exports from Canada
00:34:14.333 --> 00:34:17.999
has been going on
for, oh, 40 years.
00:34:18.000 --> 00:34:19.499
It comes, and it goes.
00:34:19.500 --> 00:34:21.066
It waxes and wanes.
00:34:21.067 --> 00:34:22.199
Some people say,
00:34:22.200 --> 00:34:24.199
\"Well, it would be too expensive
to ever happen,\"
00:34:24.200 --> 00:34:25.866
but, you know,
that\'s what they used to say
00:34:25.867 --> 00:34:27.866
about the tar sands
not very long ago.
00:34:27.867 --> 00:34:30.532
They said tar sands oil
was too expensive to extract
00:34:30.533 --> 00:34:32.866
and would never be
a major supplier of energy
00:34:32.867 --> 00:34:34.332
to the United States.
00:34:34.333 --> 00:34:37.666
It\'s now the major supplier
of oil to the United States.
00:34:37.667 --> 00:34:38.832
So I mean,
00:34:38.833 --> 00:34:40.332
if you need water,
you need water.
00:34:40.333 --> 00:34:42.566
And believe me,
the United States needs water.
00:34:42.567 --> 00:34:48.633
[stirring electric guitar music]
00:35:27.467 --> 00:35:30.299
- NAFTA has become
almost a piñata
00:35:30.300 --> 00:35:33.166
for pandering politicians
and pundits,
00:35:33.167 --> 00:35:35.499
the excuse for everything
that\'s gone wrong,
00:35:35.500 --> 00:35:38.666
but it really
is a simple agreement
00:35:38.667 --> 00:35:42.499
whose purpose is to dismantle
trade and investment barriers
00:35:42.500 --> 00:35:45.332
and to encourage
trade and investment.
00:35:45.333 --> 00:35:48.799
And understood in those terms,
it\'s been a great success.
00:35:48.800 --> 00:35:51.800
[church bells ringing]
00:35:57.733 --> 00:36:00.066
Each of the three countries
of North America
00:36:00.067 --> 00:36:01.732
have its sacred cows.
00:36:01.733 --> 00:36:04.567
Canada\'s sacred cow
now is water.
00:36:09.233 --> 00:36:12.732
I don\'t think it\'s beyond
the scope of governance
00:36:12.733 --> 00:36:15.232
for all three countries
to think hard
00:36:15.233 --> 00:36:17.332
about how to regulate
the use of water
00:36:17.333 --> 00:36:19.832
to benefit
all three communities,
00:36:19.833 --> 00:36:23.167
not just today
but in the future as well.
00:36:25.467 --> 00:36:27.466
The hard question is,
how do you distribute it
00:36:27.467 --> 00:36:30.232
so that all of the peoples
in North America
00:36:30.233 --> 00:36:32.899
have an adequate supply?
00:36:32.900 --> 00:36:35.399
And that does require
a new kind of governance
00:36:35.400 --> 00:36:37.732
and a new way of thinking
about our neighbors
00:36:37.733 --> 00:36:42.066
and a more generous spirit
on the part of Canada
00:36:42.067 --> 00:36:43.832
than we sometimes see.
00:36:43.833 --> 00:36:45.166
- We are not talking about
00:36:45.167 --> 00:36:47.066
Canadian water
versus American water
00:36:47.067 --> 00:36:49.232
but rather ecosystem water
00:36:49.233 --> 00:36:52.066
and protecting those watersheds
as they exist now.
00:36:52.067 --> 00:36:53.899
We have problems in this country
00:36:53.900 --> 00:36:55.399
just as they do
in the United States.
00:36:55.400 --> 00:36:57.899
In fact, they have just about
the same amount of water.
00:36:57.900 --> 00:37:00.066
They\'re going to have
to use it differently.
00:37:00.067 --> 00:37:01.732
And if anybody thinks Canadians
00:37:01.733 --> 00:37:04.399
are going to easily
send water to places
00:37:04.400 --> 00:37:06.232
that still haven\'t learned
00:37:06.233 --> 00:37:08.066
to move away
from great big lawns
00:37:08.067 --> 00:37:10.399
and swimming pools
and golf courses
00:37:10.400 --> 00:37:12.732
and fountains and Las Vegases
and so on,
00:37:12.733 --> 00:37:15.233
they\'re in for a rough ride.
00:37:21.200 --> 00:37:24.699
- If Canada chooses
to export its water,
00:37:24.700 --> 00:37:26.199
it becomes a commodity
00:37:26.200 --> 00:37:29.099
and should be treated
like all other commodities.
00:37:29.100 --> 00:37:31.432
If Canada is concerned
about that,
00:37:31.433 --> 00:37:36.266
what Canada should do
is to open up for negotiations
00:37:36.267 --> 00:37:37.732
a water agreement.
00:37:37.733 --> 00:37:39.399
- The fact is that
at the moment,
00:37:39.400 --> 00:37:41.399
there is a North American
Free Trade Agreement,
00:37:41.400 --> 00:37:43.399
and it is very, very,
very clear.
00:37:43.400 --> 00:37:46.066
The corporate rights accruing
to water companies
00:37:46.067 --> 00:37:47.966
and anybody else
using that water
00:37:47.967 --> 00:37:49.299
once they have access...
00:37:49.300 --> 00:37:50.300
It\'s clearly written.
00:37:50.301 --> 00:37:51.799
It\'s in a very tough agreement
00:37:51.800 --> 00:37:54.799
that has very tough
enforcement mechanisms.
00:37:54.800 --> 00:37:57.466
And that is one of the reasons
we are so adamant
00:37:57.467 --> 00:37:58.966
that no province
should be allowed
00:37:58.967 --> 00:38:01.299
to begin commercial exports
of water,
00:38:01.300 --> 00:38:03.299
because once one province does,
00:38:03.300 --> 00:38:05.132
the whole country is committed
00:38:05.133 --> 00:38:07.466
to the new provisions
under NAFTA,
00:38:07.467 --> 00:38:08.966
and then we are then required
00:38:08.967 --> 00:38:11.966
to continue to supply our water
to the United States
00:38:11.967 --> 00:38:14.466
until we run out.
00:38:14.467 --> 00:38:17.467
[water rushing]
00:38:20.733 --> 00:38:23.066
149 39th Street,
00:38:23.067 --> 00:38:25.566
the Murray Hill
East Suite Hotel.
00:38:25.567 --> 00:38:26.899
- The Murray Hotel, right?
00:38:26.900 --> 00:38:28.399
- Yep.
Is that okay?
00:38:28.400 --> 00:38:30.399
- 39... no, yeah, okay...
00:38:30.400 --> 00:38:32.099
- Or the Ritz.
00:38:32.100 --> 00:38:34.766
Tomorrow morning,
I go to the UN at...
00:38:34.767 --> 00:38:37.599
For an 11:00 meet...
A 9:00 meeting.
00:38:37.600 --> 00:38:39.599
Then I have an 11:00...
00:38:39.600 --> 00:38:41.666
Then I have a...
00:38:41.667 --> 00:38:42.866
Yes.
00:38:42.867 --> 00:38:45.032
So I\'ve got a 10:00 meeting
in the morning,
00:38:45.033 --> 00:38:46.432
a 1:00 p.m.
press conference.
00:38:46.433 --> 00:38:48.766
I\'ve got \"The Washington Times\"
at 3:30.
00:38:48.767 --> 00:38:49.866
- The room is paid.
00:38:49.867 --> 00:38:51.266
Your card
I just have to put down too
00:38:51.267 --> 00:38:52.366
in case there\'s any charges.
00:38:52.367 --> 00:38:53.367
- Great.
00:38:53.368 --> 00:38:55.867
[keys clacking]
00:39:07.600 --> 00:39:08.766
- Hold on.
Hold on one second.
00:39:08.767 --> 00:39:09.932
- Sure.
00:39:09.933 --> 00:39:12.266
- You have to show him
your little white...
00:39:12.267 --> 00:39:13.832
What we want, what we\'re seeking
00:39:13.833 --> 00:39:17.199
is a covenant or a treaty
at the United Nations
00:39:17.200 --> 00:39:19.366
like the rights that are held
00:39:19.367 --> 00:39:21.866
in the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights
00:39:21.867 --> 00:39:23.866
that was ratified in 1948.
00:39:23.867 --> 00:39:26.699
We want one similar to that
on water.
00:39:26.700 --> 00:39:29.199
And the reason it wasn\'t
in that original document
00:39:29.200 --> 00:39:32.099
is because nobody
back then could imagine
00:39:32.100 --> 00:39:34.099
that there would
be a problem with water.
00:39:34.100 --> 00:39:35.100
- You are based in Canada?
00:39:35.100 --> 00:39:36.100
- Yes.
00:39:36.101 --> 00:39:37.599
If Canada were to declare
00:39:37.600 --> 00:39:39.432
its support
for the right to water
00:39:39.433 --> 00:39:42.599
at the United Nations,
it would be very important,
00:39:42.600 --> 00:39:44.432
because Canada
has traditionally been
00:39:44.433 --> 00:39:46.266
an extremely important country
00:39:46.267 --> 00:39:49.366
in terms of being
a barometer for human rights.
00:39:49.367 --> 00:39:53.366
And we\'ve generally been
on the side of the angels.
00:39:53.367 --> 00:39:55.566
Maude Barlow, Mario,
what an honor to meet you.
00:39:55.567 --> 00:39:56.732
- Look forward to yours...
00:39:56.733 --> 00:39:58.066
- That was wonderful.
- Thank you.
00:39:58.067 --> 00:39:59.067
- Wonderful comments.
00:39:59.068 --> 00:40:00.199
Thank you so much.
00:40:00.200 --> 00:40:01.699
I\'m gonna talk about women
and water
00:40:01.700 --> 00:40:02.866
and the right to water,
00:40:02.867 --> 00:40:05.032
so we will be
on the same wavelength.
00:40:05.033 --> 00:40:07.866
- The proliferation of states
during the 20th century
00:40:07.867 --> 00:40:10.699
led to the very deep
differentiation
00:40:10.700 --> 00:40:13.032
in the reality of state power
across the world.
00:40:13.033 --> 00:40:15.032
- Since the signature
of the declaration,
00:40:15.033 --> 00:40:19.032
our country has made
tremendous progress.
00:40:19.033 --> 00:40:21.232
Still, much remains to be done.
00:40:21.233 --> 00:40:22.899
- How to further mainstream
00:40:22.900 --> 00:40:24.399
the universality
and cohesiveness
00:40:24.400 --> 00:40:25.899
of all human rights
00:40:25.900 --> 00:40:28.066
in a way that celebrates
diversity.
00:40:28.067 --> 00:40:29.499
Thank you.
00:40:29.500 --> 00:40:31.832
- There are 24 agencies
at the United Nations
00:40:31.833 --> 00:40:34.332
tasked with different parts
of the water story,
00:40:34.333 --> 00:40:36.832
and they\'re very keen
to have the support
00:40:36.833 --> 00:40:39.999
of people who want to move this
in a more systemic way
00:40:40.000 --> 00:40:41.666
to the political level.
00:40:41.667 --> 00:40:43.666
It it with a sense of urgency
00:40:43.667 --> 00:40:46.599
that I urge the nations
here today
00:40:46.600 --> 00:40:50.332
to give priority to extending
the human right to water.
00:40:50.333 --> 00:40:52.832
Is water a common good,
like air,
00:40:52.833 --> 00:40:56.499
or is it a commodity,
like Coca-Cola?
00:40:56.500 --> 00:40:58.666
Who is being given
the right or the power
00:40:58.667 --> 00:41:01.666
to turn the tap on or off:
00:41:01.667 --> 00:41:03.666
the people, governments,
00:41:03.667 --> 00:41:06.266
or the invisible hand
of the market?
00:41:06.267 --> 00:41:08.932
What is needed now
is binding law
00:41:08.933 --> 00:41:12.066
to codify that states
have the obligation
00:41:12.067 --> 00:41:14.666
to deliver sufficient, safe,
00:41:14.667 --> 00:41:17.999
accessible, and affordable water
to their citizens,
00:41:18.000 --> 00:41:21.099
and it must become
self-evident.
00:41:21.100 --> 00:41:22.599
Let us commit here today
00:41:22.600 --> 00:41:25.932
in remembrance of all of those
who fought so hard
00:41:25.933 --> 00:41:30.266
to create the 1948 Universal
Declaration of Human Rights
00:41:30.267 --> 00:41:32.766
to a water-secure world
for all
00:41:32.767 --> 00:41:35.432
based on the principles
of water protection
00:41:35.433 --> 00:41:38.932
and watershed renewal,
equity, and justice,
00:41:38.933 --> 00:41:41.266
and the right
of all living things
00:41:41.267 --> 00:41:42.932
to water for life.
00:41:42.933 --> 00:41:44.932
Thank you.
00:41:44.933 --> 00:41:45.933
- Thank you,
Mrs. Barlow,
00:41:45.934 --> 00:41:48.366
for that excellent presentation.
00:41:48.367 --> 00:41:51.367
[siren blares,
car horns honking]
00:41:57.533 --> 00:41:59.866
- I\'m afraid
of running out of time
00:41:59.867 --> 00:42:01.366
on this mission
00:42:01.367 --> 00:42:04.532
and just not being able
to get there fast enough
00:42:04.533 --> 00:42:06.866
to stop what I really do see
00:42:06.867 --> 00:42:11.033
as a crisis
of monumental proportions.
00:42:13.767 --> 00:42:17.599
I believe that water refugees,
water migration,
00:42:17.600 --> 00:42:19.766
is coming very, very quickly,
00:42:19.767 --> 00:42:21.099
not in some future time.
00:42:21.100 --> 00:42:22.266
It\'s in... it\'s now.
00:42:22.267 --> 00:42:23.832
It\'s in our generation.
00:42:23.833 --> 00:42:25.499
Hello, okay, so I just finished,
00:42:25.500 --> 00:42:27.966
and I\'m in a taxi in traffic,
00:42:27.967 --> 00:42:31.132
but I think I\'ll make my flight.
00:42:31.133 --> 00:42:34.132
[laughs]
00:42:34.133 --> 00:42:36.299
Okay, I\'ll see you later.
00:42:36.300 --> 00:42:37.632
I should be home at 6:00.
00:42:37.633 --> 00:42:39.732
Okay, sweetie.
Bye-bye.
00:42:39.733 --> 00:42:42.566
[buttons clicking]
00:42:42.567 --> 00:42:45.567
[humming \"I\'ll Fly Away\"]
00:42:49.700 --> 00:42:51.632
I guess I\'d say I\'m on the road
00:42:51.633 --> 00:42:54.466
probably half the year,
although it comes in waves.
00:42:54.467 --> 00:42:56.132
You know, it\'s not so bad
in the summer.
00:42:56.133 --> 00:42:57.399
Yeah, I get lonely,
00:42:57.400 --> 00:42:59.232
but, you know, I got friends
all over the world.
00:42:59.233 --> 00:43:00.399
And you have to know,
00:43:00.400 --> 00:43:02.066
when you\'re in
this kind of movement,
00:43:02.067 --> 00:43:04.399
you\'re friends
with people immediately.
00:43:04.400 --> 00:43:06.732
Sometimes you get off a plane
in, I don\'t know,
00:43:06.733 --> 00:43:08.732
Latin America, Africa, wherever,
00:43:08.733 --> 00:43:09.899
and somebody greets you,
00:43:09.900 --> 00:43:11.566
and you immediately have a bond.
00:43:11.567 --> 00:43:12.732
You\'re friends for life
00:43:12.733 --> 00:43:14.232
because you share
a common struggle
00:43:14.233 --> 00:43:15.566
and a common vision.
00:43:15.567 --> 00:43:17.399
It\'s really
the toll on your body
00:43:17.400 --> 00:43:19.066
and missing my family.
00:43:19.067 --> 00:43:22.566
Those are the downsides
of the traveling.
00:43:22.567 --> 00:43:24.332
You swallow the exhaustion.
00:43:24.333 --> 00:43:25.666
You just suck it up.
00:43:25.667 --> 00:43:28.732
What are you gonna do?
00:43:28.733 --> 00:43:30.566
- Hold on to mama\'s hand
00:43:30.567 --> 00:43:32.966
\'cause we have to walk
down the stairs, okay?
00:43:32.967 --> 00:43:34.632
- Give me a kiss.
00:43:34.633 --> 00:43:35.966
- Let me see?
00:43:35.967 --> 00:43:38.399
- [gasps] Beautiful.
00:43:38.400 --> 00:43:42.232
- One, two, three, go!
00:43:42.233 --> 00:43:43.866
Good one.
00:43:43.867 --> 00:43:46.166
- You\'re such a good swimmer.
00:43:46.167 --> 00:43:47.466
- Okay, let\'s do some fishing.
00:43:47.467 --> 00:43:48.632
- Want to take your shoes off?
00:43:48.633 --> 00:43:51.799
[loon wails]
00:43:51.800 --> 00:43:53.632
- Why are you
putting your shoe there?
00:43:53.633 --> 00:43:54.832
- It\'s a good sign.
00:43:54.833 --> 00:43:56.532
It means that the lake
is really a good lake,
00:43:56.533 --> 00:43:57.832
a healthy lake.
00:43:57.833 --> 00:43:59.832
It has to be deep,
and the water has to be clean
00:43:59.833 --> 00:44:03.332
for the loons to live here.
00:44:03.333 --> 00:44:04.666
The other day when I was here,
00:44:04.667 --> 00:44:06.332
there was a loon
really, really close,
00:44:06.333 --> 00:44:07.866
and you know what it was doing?
00:44:07.867 --> 00:44:09.699
It was feeding its baby loon,
00:44:09.700 --> 00:44:12.699
and the babies
sit on their backs.
00:44:12.700 --> 00:44:14.699
They will keep them on
their back for a little while
00:44:14.700 --> 00:44:20.199
until they\'re big enough
to swim by themselves.
00:44:20.200 --> 00:44:23.199
I find myself in a lot
of stressful situations.
00:44:23.200 --> 00:44:24.866
Got a lot of people mad at me.
00:44:24.867 --> 00:44:27.032
Got a lot of powerful
entities mad at me.
00:44:27.033 --> 00:44:28.266
They blame me,
00:44:28.267 --> 00:44:30.366
and I think they give me
more power than I deserve.
00:44:30.367 --> 00:44:33.532
So to have a refuge,
a safe place to come
00:44:33.533 --> 00:44:36.866
with people who love me
and people whom I adore
00:44:36.867 --> 00:44:38.699
and to just forget all that
00:44:38.700 --> 00:44:40.532
is extraordinarily important.
00:44:40.533 --> 00:44:42.666
How did you like
Vancouver Island?
00:44:42.667 --> 00:44:43.667
- Great.
00:44:43.668 --> 00:44:44.832
- Great!
00:44:44.833 --> 00:44:46.599
We found... we found
this really cool stuff,
00:44:46.600 --> 00:44:48.599
and we even found
a dead jellyfish.
00:44:48.600 --> 00:44:50.599
- A dead jellyfish, where?
00:44:50.600 --> 00:44:52.199
On the beach?
- Yeah.
00:44:52.200 --> 00:44:54.199
- When I\'m with them,
I forget everything else,
00:44:54.200 --> 00:44:56.532
except water\'s still there
but in a nice way.
00:44:56.533 --> 00:44:58.866
But I just...
I\'m with them.
00:44:58.867 --> 00:45:00.699
And I go to the place
that they are,
00:45:00.700 --> 00:45:02.699
and I see the world
through new eyes
00:45:02.700 --> 00:45:06.366
because, boy, those eyes
are just so fresh and so clean,
00:45:06.367 --> 00:45:07.532
and they\'re so new.
00:45:07.533 --> 00:45:08.866
- We got a starfish on our trip.
00:45:08.867 --> 00:45:09.867
- Yeah?
00:45:09.867 --> 00:45:10.867
- I really like it.
00:45:10.868 --> 00:45:12.032
It\'s about, like, this big.
00:45:12.033 --> 00:45:15.032
- I was trained,
taught to be a nice girl.
00:45:15.033 --> 00:45:17.032
I was the middle girl
of three girls,
00:45:17.033 --> 00:45:18.899
and I was the good one.
00:45:18.900 --> 00:45:20.899
And I got a lot of leeway
in my life
00:45:20.900 --> 00:45:22.232
being like that.
00:45:22.233 --> 00:45:23.899
And one of the first times
00:45:23.900 --> 00:45:25.899
that I ever took a public stand
on something
00:45:25.900 --> 00:45:27.232
and got castigated,
00:45:27.233 --> 00:45:29.032
my mother said,
\"You cut it out,\"
00:45:29.033 --> 00:45:30.566
\'cause I was feeling sorry
for myself.
00:45:30.567 --> 00:45:32.566
She said, \"Serious people
have serious enemies.\"
00:45:32.567 --> 00:45:35.233
And I\'ve always remembered that.
00:45:52.000 --> 00:45:53.832
The Montreal Economic Institute
00:45:53.833 --> 00:45:57.166
wants to set the stage
for Quebec to export water.
00:45:57.167 --> 00:45:59.132
Tell me how they\'re going
to get this water
00:45:59.133 --> 00:46:01.133
to those places that need it.
00:46:12.333 --> 00:46:15.333
- [speaking French]
00:47:50.400 --> 00:47:51.899
- We have to keep it
in watersheds.
00:47:51.900 --> 00:47:53.732
We have to capture storm water.
00:47:53.733 --> 00:47:55.366
We have to capture rainwater.
00:47:55.367 --> 00:47:58.166
We have to harvest the water
that comes from the skies
00:47:58.167 --> 00:48:00.332
and protect the water
that we already have
00:48:00.333 --> 00:48:01.632
and then live within that.
00:48:01.633 --> 00:48:02.966
It\'s called the soft path.
00:48:02.967 --> 00:48:06.132
The hard path
is all the heavy technology:
00:48:06.133 --> 00:48:08.532
the expensive desalination
00:48:08.533 --> 00:48:10.532
and the expensive recycling
00:48:10.533 --> 00:48:13.199
and now the pipelines
that will move water
00:48:13.200 --> 00:48:14.532
from one place to another
00:48:14.533 --> 00:48:17.032
and mass diversion of water
for profit.
00:48:17.033 --> 00:48:20.033
This is a recipe for disaster.
00:48:42.233 --> 00:48:43.399
- These think tanks
00:48:43.400 --> 00:48:45.732
that are doing this
in Canada and Quebec,
00:48:45.733 --> 00:48:49.799
now who are paving the way
for this in the future,
00:48:49.800 --> 00:48:50.966
say they\'re doing it
00:48:50.967 --> 00:48:53.299
for humanitarian reasons
in one breath,
00:48:53.300 --> 00:48:54.599
and in the next breath,
they say,
00:48:54.600 --> 00:48:56.299
\"But we will sell it
and make money from it.\"
00:48:56.300 --> 00:48:58.300
Those two things
do not go together.
00:49:22.033 --> 00:49:24.366
- If we\'re going to share,
the sharing has to come
00:49:24.367 --> 00:49:26.532
in our changing our lifestyles
00:49:26.533 --> 00:49:29.199
and implementing a system,
00:49:29.200 --> 00:49:30.532
an economic system in the world
00:49:30.533 --> 00:49:33.699
based on diversity, fair trade,
00:49:33.700 --> 00:49:36.532
ecological sanity, stewardship,
00:49:36.533 --> 00:49:38.032
and social justice.
00:49:38.033 --> 00:49:39.532
And this is profoundly different
00:49:39.533 --> 00:49:41.032
than the system
that we have now.
00:49:41.033 --> 00:49:42.532
Feeding into this notion
00:49:42.533 --> 00:49:44.532
that you\'re gonna somehow
ship water somewhere,
00:49:44.533 --> 00:49:45.866
make some money from it,
00:49:45.867 --> 00:49:48.532
dribble some charity,
sprinkle some charity
00:49:48.533 --> 00:49:50.699
in some African villages
so you can sleep at night
00:49:50.700 --> 00:49:53.866
is just a cover
for the corporatization
00:49:53.867 --> 00:49:55.532
and the commodification
of our water,
00:49:55.533 --> 00:49:58.200
and I will not let it happen.
00:50:23.333 --> 00:50:26.166
- [singing]
I don\'t care what they say.
00:50:26.167 --> 00:50:28.866
I\'m gonna drink it anyway.
00:50:28.867 --> 00:50:32.032
No bottled water.
Keep it free.
00:50:32.033 --> 00:50:34.866
Fresh, clean water.
Keep it free.
00:50:34.867 --> 00:50:37.866
Keep it free and keep it mine,
00:50:37.867 --> 00:50:40.532
publicly owned, not privatized.
00:50:40.533 --> 00:50:43.866
Keep it free and keep it mine,
00:50:43.867 --> 00:50:47.232
publicly owned, not privatized.
00:50:47.233 --> 00:50:50.066
- [singing] Every creature
has the right to share
00:50:50.067 --> 00:50:52.899
running water everywhere.
00:50:52.900 --> 00:50:56.066
Dasani and Evian,
00:50:56.067 --> 00:50:58.899
Aquafina and Dasani.
00:50:58.900 --> 00:51:00.399
[all singing]
No bottled water.
00:51:00.400 --> 00:51:02.066
Keep it free.
00:51:02.067 --> 00:51:04.966
Fresh, clean water.
Keep it free.
00:51:04.967 --> 00:51:08.132
Keep it free and keep it mine,
00:51:08.133 --> 00:51:11.166
publicly owned, not privatized.
00:51:11.167 --> 00:51:14.166
Keep it free and keep it mine,
00:51:14.167 --> 00:51:17.332
publicly owned, not privatized.
00:51:17.333 --> 00:51:20.166
- [singing]
Water is a human need,
00:51:20.167 --> 00:51:23.667
not for money, not for greed.
00:51:28.767 --> 00:51:30.932
- Bottled water
is really the first step
00:51:30.933 --> 00:51:33.932
towards the concept
of the privatization of water,
00:51:33.933 --> 00:51:37.166
and it\'s very important for us
to make this distinction.
00:51:37.167 --> 00:51:38.832
If you commit yourself
to private water,
00:51:38.833 --> 00:51:40.166
to bottled water,
00:51:40.167 --> 00:51:42.666
you\'re gonna stop caring
what comes out of your tap.
00:51:42.667 --> 00:51:46.166
And let me tell you,
the municipal water in Ontario
00:51:46.167 --> 00:51:47.566
is the cleanest in the world.
00:51:47.567 --> 00:51:49.066
You do not have
to worry about it.
00:51:49.067 --> 00:51:50.899
You do not need
to drink bottled water.
00:51:50.900 --> 00:51:53.332
It\'s absolutely unnecessary.
00:51:53.333 --> 00:51:56.999
It is a public trust,
and it is a human right.
00:51:57.000 --> 00:51:58.499
And we join together
00:51:58.500 --> 00:52:01.466
in saying, \"Water for all,
for all time.\"
00:52:01.467 --> 00:52:02.467
[applause]
00:52:02.468 --> 00:52:04.467
Thank you.
00:52:06.833 --> 00:52:07.899
- Recently,
00:52:07.900 --> 00:52:11.066
a march was held
in protest of Site 41,
00:52:11.067 --> 00:52:13.066
and over 1,000 people came out
00:52:13.067 --> 00:52:15.399
and were inspired
by Maude\'s message.
00:52:15.400 --> 00:52:16.732
[voice breaks]
Thank you, Maude,
00:52:16.733 --> 00:52:18.399
for bringing hope
to our community...
00:52:18.400 --> 00:52:22.732
[applause]
00:52:22.733 --> 00:52:24.066
And joining with those
00:52:24.067 --> 00:52:27.732
who have fought tirelessly
for years.
00:52:27.733 --> 00:52:29.399
And I believe it when you say
00:52:29.400 --> 00:52:31.399
that you will come back
time and time again
00:52:31.400 --> 00:52:33.732
and bring more and more people
till we win this,
00:52:33.733 --> 00:52:35.232
and I know
that you will come back,
00:52:35.233 --> 00:52:37.566
and we will celebrate victory.
00:52:37.567 --> 00:52:39.566
And just recently,
a group of Native...
00:52:39.567 --> 00:52:40.899
Or First Nations women
00:52:40.900 --> 00:52:43.566
have set up camp at Site 41
00:52:43.567 --> 00:52:45.732
in protest of Site 41,
00:52:45.733 --> 00:52:47.466
and they have vowed not to leave
00:52:47.467 --> 00:52:49.966
until the government
reverses their decision.
00:52:49.967 --> 00:52:53.966
And I am calling in CUPE
to support those women
00:52:53.967 --> 00:52:58.299
and to promote our protests
and to bring people.
00:52:58.300 --> 00:53:01.332
And thank you again, Maude.
00:53:01.333 --> 00:53:04.332
[applause]
00:53:04.333 --> 00:53:10.333
[solemn piano music]
00:53:15.133 --> 00:53:16.466
- Whoo!
00:53:16.467 --> 00:53:17.799
[car horns honking]
00:53:17.800 --> 00:53:20.166
Environmental Protection Agency
in the United States
00:53:20.167 --> 00:53:21.266
says there is no such thing
00:53:21.267 --> 00:53:22.599
as a dump site
that doesn\'t leach.
00:53:22.600 --> 00:53:23.600
- Yeah, of course.
00:53:23.600 --> 00:53:24.600
- There is not one.
00:53:24.601 --> 00:53:25.766
Eventually, they all leach.
00:53:25.767 --> 00:53:27.599
All: No garbage in our water!
00:53:27.600 --> 00:53:30.232
No garbage in our water!
00:53:30.233 --> 00:53:31.899
No garbage in our water!
00:53:31.900 --> 00:53:34.399
No garbage in our water!
00:53:34.400 --> 00:53:36.799
No garbage in our water!
00:53:36.800 --> 00:53:39.800
- No garbage in our water!
00:53:50.900 --> 00:53:53.900
[faint drumming]
00:53:57.700 --> 00:54:00.700
[drumming]
00:54:13.267 --> 00:54:19.267
[men vocalizing]
00:54:27.267 --> 00:54:33.267
[men singing in native language]
00:54:41.067 --> 00:54:44.599
- This woman has been
a tremendous inspiration
00:54:44.600 --> 00:54:48.332
and a tremendous help.
00:54:48.333 --> 00:54:49.999
You said you would
keep coming back
00:54:50.000 --> 00:54:52.499
as often as necessary.
00:54:52.500 --> 00:54:55.166
Well, it\'s not that
I don\'t want to see you again,
00:54:55.167 --> 00:54:56.666
but it would be really nice
00:54:56.667 --> 00:54:58.999
if this were the last time
you had to come,
00:54:59.000 --> 00:55:02.499
except for our celebration
banquet when it\'s over.
00:55:02.500 --> 00:55:03.732
[applause]
00:55:03.733 --> 00:55:06.932
- Democracy
looks like the women\'s camp.
00:55:06.933 --> 00:55:09.266
All through those rainy days
and windy nights,
00:55:09.267 --> 00:55:11.599
staying here
and having the faith
00:55:11.600 --> 00:55:13.832
that there was
a reason to do it.
00:55:13.833 --> 00:55:16.166
Democracy looks like people
00:55:16.167 --> 00:55:18.832
from all walks of life
in this community
00:55:18.833 --> 00:55:20.666
and, frankly,
around the province
00:55:20.667 --> 00:55:22.332
and more and more
around the country
00:55:22.333 --> 00:55:24.999
coming together and saying,
\"We stand with you.\"
00:55:25.000 --> 00:55:28.666
I want to tell you
that we\'ve got a plan.
00:55:28.667 --> 00:55:31.832
We\'re going to put together
a resolution for county council.
00:55:31.833 --> 00:55:34.666
The first time they meet
is August the 25th,
00:55:34.667 --> 00:55:36.332
and it will, among other things,
00:55:36.333 --> 00:55:40.699
call for a moratorium
on the site for a year,
00:55:40.700 --> 00:55:42.199
while we hold public hearings
00:55:42.200 --> 00:55:43.866
and we do a proper assessment
00:55:43.867 --> 00:55:46.599
of what this is going to mean
to the surrounding watershed,
00:55:46.600 --> 00:55:48.766
because so far,
all of their analysis
00:55:48.767 --> 00:55:52.099
has been on
just the site itself.
00:55:52.100 --> 00:55:54.266
Water can
be the place of healing.
00:55:54.267 --> 00:55:56.432
Water can be the place
where we come together
00:55:56.433 --> 00:55:59.432
to learn how to live differently
with one another
00:55:59.433 --> 00:56:01.432
and to learn how
to tread more lightly
00:56:01.433 --> 00:56:03.099
on this beautiful Mother Earth.
00:56:03.100 --> 00:56:05.099
I thank you.
Miigwetch.
00:56:05.100 --> 00:56:08.100
[cheers and applause]
00:56:12.300 --> 00:56:18.300
[ethereal music]
00:56:22.700 --> 00:56:25.700
[water running]
00:56:42.533 --> 00:56:46.599
- There has been
a concerted campaign
00:56:46.600 --> 00:56:49.099
led by some of the labor unions,
00:56:49.100 --> 00:56:52.932
especially CUPE
and the Council of Canadians,
00:56:52.933 --> 00:56:55.266
with Maude Barlow at its helm,
00:56:55.267 --> 00:56:59.266
against the private provision
of public services.
00:56:59.267 --> 00:57:02.266
And it\'s been
a very effective campaign,
00:57:02.267 --> 00:57:04.599
and they have scared
a lot of people
00:57:04.600 --> 00:57:07.599
away from private provision.
00:57:07.600 --> 00:57:09.466
I think that\'s a terrible error.
00:57:09.467 --> 00:57:12.966
[water sloshing]
00:57:12.967 --> 00:57:14.132
When we look at what
00:57:14.133 --> 00:57:15.799
the private sector
has to offer...
00:57:15.800 --> 00:57:18.299
For example, let\'s look
at the investment issue...
00:57:18.300 --> 00:57:20.099
We probably need
00:57:20.100 --> 00:57:25.132
in the realm
of about $90 billion
00:57:25.133 --> 00:57:27.299
to invest in water
and sewage systems.
00:57:27.300 --> 00:57:29.966
Now, governments
are extremely reluctant
00:57:29.967 --> 00:57:31.632
to invest that kind of money.
00:57:31.633 --> 00:57:33.166
They just don\'t have the money.
00:57:33.167 --> 00:57:35.666
We\'ve got the money
waiting to be invested.
00:57:35.667 --> 00:57:37.999
It\'s crazy that
we don\'t take advantage of it,
00:57:38.000 --> 00:57:39.832
because we need that money.
00:57:39.833 --> 00:57:41.599
Our systems are falling apart.
00:57:41.600 --> 00:57:44.499
- These for-profit companies
are in business for profit.
00:57:44.500 --> 00:57:46.766
And so they come into
a relationship like that.
00:57:46.767 --> 00:57:48.332
They have to make money.
00:57:48.333 --> 00:57:49.999
They are
for-profit companies.
00:57:50.000 --> 00:57:53.099
So on top of whatever money
is being collected
00:57:53.100 --> 00:57:54.432
to run the water system,
00:57:54.433 --> 00:57:57.699
they have to make enough money
for their shareholders.
00:57:57.700 --> 00:57:59.399
Some of them
are transnational companies.
00:57:59.400 --> 00:58:00.400
They have to make money
00:58:00.401 --> 00:58:01.832
for shareholders
around the world.
00:58:01.833 --> 00:58:04.832
So they have to make
a profit of between 10% and 20%,
00:58:04.833 --> 00:58:06.499
which means that
the rates have to go up
00:58:06.500 --> 00:58:08.832
or they have to lay off
a whole bunch of people
00:58:08.833 --> 00:58:12.166
or they have to cut corners
in terms of safety.
00:58:12.167 --> 00:58:13.999
- I certainly used to assume
00:58:14.000 --> 00:58:16.332
that the solution
to all environmental problems
00:58:16.333 --> 00:58:19.332
lay in more
government regulation.
00:58:19.333 --> 00:58:22.832
I definitely
used to be more identifiable
00:58:22.833 --> 00:58:25.166
as somebody on the left
than on the right.
00:58:25.167 --> 00:58:26.666
I think now
00:58:26.667 --> 00:58:29.166
those distinctions
mean almost nothing.
00:58:29.167 --> 00:58:31.666
I think that some would say
that the tools
00:58:31.667 --> 00:58:34.666
that I propose...
Something like privatization...
00:58:34.667 --> 00:58:36.166
Is a right-wing tool.
00:58:36.167 --> 00:58:38.832
I think they would say
the end that I propose
00:58:38.833 --> 00:58:43.332
is a left-wing end.
00:58:43.333 --> 00:58:45.999
- Even though we don\'t think
of anybody in our country
00:58:46.000 --> 00:58:49.399
being so poor that they
couldn\'t afford water systems,
00:58:49.400 --> 00:58:51.132
trust me, when the rates go up,
00:58:51.133 --> 00:58:52.966
as they did in Detroit,
Michigan...
00:58:52.967 --> 00:58:55.466
42,000 families were cut off,
their water,
00:58:55.467 --> 00:58:57.132
mostly African-Americans,
00:58:57.133 --> 00:58:58.632
older people, unemployed people
00:58:58.633 --> 00:58:59.966
who couldn\'t afford the water.
00:58:59.967 --> 00:59:02.466
So thinking that it only happens
in countries far away
00:59:02.467 --> 00:59:04.866
is absolutely wrong.
00:59:04.867 --> 00:59:06.866
- When a resource is free,
00:59:06.867 --> 00:59:09.866
people don\'t have any incentive
to conserve it.
00:59:09.867 --> 00:59:12.199
But when you have to start
paying for a resource,
00:59:12.200 --> 00:59:13.532
that changes.
00:59:13.533 --> 00:59:16.199
The incentives
change completely.
00:59:16.200 --> 00:59:19.200
[helicopter rotors whirring]
00:59:48.567 --> 00:59:51.567
[keys clacking]
01:00:00.033 --> 01:00:01.699
- If you want to start
a good argument
01:00:01.700 --> 01:00:03.199
among economists and others,
01:00:03.200 --> 01:00:06.466
ask them what water is worth.
01:00:06.467 --> 01:00:09.299
Water is for sale
across various systems.
01:00:09.300 --> 01:00:11.466
That\'s the reality
that we face today.
01:00:11.467 --> 01:00:13.632
You and I can go down
to a grocery store
01:00:13.633 --> 01:00:15.799
and buy a liter of water
01:00:15.800 --> 01:00:18.799
at a price, by the way,
that\'s probably at or above
01:00:18.800 --> 01:00:21.299
what we would pay per gallon
to fill our cars...
01:00:21.300 --> 01:00:23.966
Or a liter to fill our cars.
01:00:23.967 --> 01:00:25.799
As we think about
where things are going,
01:00:25.800 --> 01:00:26.966
we need to acknowledge
01:00:26.967 --> 01:00:30.199
that water is owned
and being sold.
01:00:30.200 --> 01:00:31.699
- In essence, in the end,
01:00:31.700 --> 01:00:34.532
the debate is coming down
to who is making the decisions,
01:00:34.533 --> 01:00:35.966
who controls water.
01:00:35.967 --> 01:00:38.132
In certain areas of the commons
01:00:38.133 --> 01:00:40.132
where there must be
a public trust
01:00:40.133 --> 01:00:42.132
because it is
life-and-death, like water...
01:00:42.133 --> 01:00:43.799
And I think health care
is another one,
01:00:43.800 --> 01:00:45.632
but water\'s probably
the best example...
01:00:45.633 --> 01:00:47.599
You must maintain
public control.
01:00:47.600 --> 01:00:48.600
You must.
01:00:48.601 --> 01:00:49.666
- On the whole issue
01:00:49.667 --> 01:00:51.832
of whether
it\'s public or private.
01:00:51.833 --> 01:00:54.499
My view, it\'s neither
one nor the other.
01:00:54.500 --> 01:00:56.666
Governments are critical players
01:00:56.667 --> 01:00:59.499
in terms of defining
broader social goods,
01:00:59.500 --> 01:01:01.632
and they should continue to be.
01:01:01.633 --> 01:01:04.132
We need to be thinking, too,
about those populations
01:01:04.133 --> 01:01:06.966
in which we have seen
these public mandates fail,
01:01:06.967 --> 01:01:08.632
and there are a number
of key examples
01:01:08.633 --> 01:01:10.132
across the world.
01:01:10.133 --> 01:01:12.466
By the same token,
we have seen failures
01:01:12.467 --> 01:01:15.799
with respect to implementation
on the private sector side.
01:01:15.800 --> 01:01:17.132
So in my view,
01:01:17.133 --> 01:01:19.632
it\'s not
an either-or proposition.
01:01:19.633 --> 01:01:23.466
We need to be thinking
about a linked structure
01:01:23.467 --> 01:01:27.466
that looks at government
for leadership and mobilization
01:01:27.467 --> 01:01:28.632
not only at the federal
01:01:28.633 --> 01:01:30.799
but the state
and provincial level
01:01:30.800 --> 01:01:32.299
and even the local level.
01:01:32.300 --> 01:01:34.466
We need very creative approaches
01:01:34.467 --> 01:01:36.132
with respect to private sector,
01:01:36.133 --> 01:01:38.132
and we\'re beginning
to see those right now.
01:01:38.133 --> 01:01:40.632
And I believe there\'s
a very significant role
01:01:40.633 --> 01:01:42.966
for the nongovernmental
organization community.
01:01:42.967 --> 01:01:46.132
Civil society can play ball
in this game
01:01:46.133 --> 01:01:48.032
as never before now.
01:01:48.033 --> 01:01:54.033
[woman vocalizing]
01:01:59.967 --> 01:02:02.967
[water flowing]
01:02:36.967 --> 01:02:39.967
[water rushing]
01:02:45.200 --> 01:02:48.932
- I feel
a kind of frantic tension.
01:02:48.933 --> 01:02:50.599
I don\'t know
how else to describe it.
01:02:50.600 --> 01:02:53.099
I\'m watching what\'s happening
to the world\'s water,
01:02:53.100 --> 01:02:54.932
and it won\'t go away for me.
01:02:54.933 --> 01:02:56.099
I\'m obsessed with it,
01:02:56.100 --> 01:02:58.266
and I worry about
the incremental transfer
01:02:58.267 --> 01:03:02.766
of water ownership
and decision-making and control,
01:03:02.767 --> 01:03:05.432
piece by piece
in 100 different ways,
01:03:05.433 --> 01:03:07.266
into the hands
of private sector.
01:03:07.267 --> 01:03:10.432
And how you get it back
after that, after it\'s gone,
01:03:10.433 --> 01:03:14.266
is going to be
extraordinarily hard,
01:03:14.267 --> 01:03:17.200
which is why we\'re fighting
not to let it go.
01:03:20.100 --> 01:03:23.100
[wind whistling]
01:03:28.333 --> 01:03:34.333
[delicate haunting music]
01:03:43.267 --> 01:03:46.267
[indistinct, echoing
conversation]
01:03:55.367 --> 01:03:58.800
[water splashing]
01:04:01.733 --> 01:04:05.233
[water trickling]
01:04:09.633 --> 01:04:12.633
[water splashing]
01:04:54.633 --> 01:04:56.966
I don\'t think
you\'re decrepit at all.
01:04:56.967 --> 01:04:58.466
I think you\'re brilliant.
01:04:58.467 --> 01:05:01.932
- I told them, yeah,
I\'m ready for the archives.
01:05:01.933 --> 01:05:02.933
- Aw.
01:05:02.934 --> 01:05:04.266
[laughter]
01:05:04.267 --> 01:05:07.366
- I have always believed,
of course,
01:05:07.367 --> 01:05:09.532
as all of us,
01:05:09.533 --> 01:05:13.699
I\'ve believed in the importance
of water.
01:05:13.700 --> 01:05:21.032
But it was not until I read
Maude\'s book \"Blue Gold\"
01:05:21.033 --> 01:05:25.032
that I became fully, fully aware
01:05:25.033 --> 01:05:28.532
of the great importance of water
01:05:28.533 --> 01:05:33.732
and of the need
to really put it up front
01:05:33.733 --> 01:05:36.966
in the conscience of the world.
01:05:36.967 --> 01:05:38.966
- I would like Canada
to play a leadership role.
01:05:38.967 --> 01:05:40.299
We have a lot of water.
01:05:40.300 --> 01:05:42.632
We don\'t have as much water
as people think.
01:05:42.633 --> 01:05:45.466
You hear that we have
20% of the world\'s freshwater,
01:05:45.467 --> 01:05:46.699
but we actually have
01:05:46.700 --> 01:05:49.532
about 6.5% of
the available freshwater.
01:05:49.533 --> 01:05:53.032
The year with the United Nations
01:05:53.033 --> 01:05:56.399
is incredibly important
for me and, I believe,
01:05:56.400 --> 01:05:57.933
I\'d like to think, for the work.
01:06:03.600 --> 01:06:07.599
Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola
use city water.
01:06:07.600 --> 01:06:09.266
They use municipal water,
01:06:09.267 --> 01:06:10.432
and then they put it through
01:06:10.433 --> 01:06:12.099
their secret
reverse osmosis process
01:06:12.100 --> 01:06:13.932
and add their
secret packet of minerals,
01:06:13.933 --> 01:06:16.699
and they sell it back to you
at 1,100 or 1,200 times more
01:06:16.700 --> 01:06:18.700
than you pay for it
from the tap.
01:06:21.900 --> 01:06:25.699
There is a huge influence
of the water corporations
01:06:25.700 --> 01:06:29.366
and other corporations
on the UN agenda,
01:06:29.367 --> 01:06:31.032
and I worry very much
01:06:31.033 --> 01:06:34.699
that if the private sector
takes over the policy-making
01:06:34.700 --> 01:06:36.032
at the United Nations
01:06:36.033 --> 01:06:37.066
that we\'re going to lose
01:06:37.067 --> 01:06:39.399
the last international
institution
01:06:39.400 --> 01:06:41.732
that\'s supposed to be about
governments and their people
01:06:41.733 --> 01:06:44.232
and not about private sector
interests.
01:06:44.233 --> 01:06:46.466
So it is a fight
for the soul of the UN
01:06:46.467 --> 01:06:48.632
that\'s taking place now.
01:06:48.633 --> 01:06:52.466
If it no longer represents
governments and its citizens
01:06:52.467 --> 01:06:54.632
but rather the interests
of these corporations,
01:06:54.633 --> 01:06:57.799
we\'re going to have lost
a very, very important symbol
01:06:57.800 --> 01:07:01.466
for human and ecological
advancement.
01:07:01.467 --> 01:07:04.132
I\'m going to continue
to make this critique
01:07:04.133 --> 01:07:06.132
inside and outside
the United Nations.
01:07:06.133 --> 01:07:07.632
Hello.
01:07:07.633 --> 01:07:10.867
- How are you, madam?
01:07:50.300 --> 01:07:52.632
- Hello.
How are you?
01:07:52.633 --> 01:07:53.799
I\'m good.
01:07:53.800 --> 01:07:56.300
I\'m going to Ottawa
through Toronto.
01:07:59.233 --> 01:08:05.233
[solemn piano music]
01:08:23.933 --> 01:08:26.933
[crowd murmuring]
01:08:28.767 --> 01:08:30.999
I love raw democracy.
01:08:31.000 --> 01:08:33.432
This is just the purest form
01:08:33.433 --> 01:08:35.767
of citizen democracy
that you can get.
01:08:40.667 --> 01:08:43.667
[crowd shouting and clapping]
01:08:47.133 --> 01:08:51.299
- Again, move for a one-year
moratorium on Site 41.
01:08:51.300 --> 01:08:54.632
As elected officials,
responsiveness to citizens
01:08:54.633 --> 01:08:57.132
is one of our primary
responsibilities.
01:08:57.133 --> 01:08:58.966
- You can\'t be
this divisive vision.
01:08:58.967 --> 01:09:03.299
You can\'t have 16 people
not talking to 16 people.
01:09:03.300 --> 01:09:06.732
- Your Worship, the resolution
passes 86 in favor...
01:09:06.733 --> 01:09:09.733
[wild cheers and applause]
01:09:18.033 --> 01:09:20.566
- I think that there was
such a wonderful joint effort,
01:09:20.567 --> 01:09:21.866
and I think they heard,
01:09:21.867 --> 01:09:23.799
and they heard with
their hearts and their heads.
01:09:23.800 --> 01:09:25.399
I think there was healing
that took place
01:09:25.400 --> 01:09:26.400
in this community today,
01:09:26.401 --> 01:09:28.232
on county
and between people here.
01:09:28.233 --> 01:09:30.732
And I think this
has been an historic decision.
01:09:30.733 --> 01:09:32.232
I\'m absolutely thrilled
and honored
01:09:32.233 --> 01:09:33.399
to have been part of it.
01:09:33.400 --> 01:09:35.066
- What does this mean,
this moratorium?
01:09:35.067 --> 01:09:36.399
- Well, this moratorium means
01:09:36.400 --> 01:09:38.566
that they now have to have
full public consultation,
01:09:38.567 --> 01:09:40.666
full peer review of the model.
01:09:40.667 --> 01:09:42.499
Very important victory
for democracy
01:09:42.500 --> 01:09:44.332
and a coming together
of the sides
01:09:44.333 --> 01:09:47.066
that have been apart
over the healing of water.
01:09:47.067 --> 01:09:48.399
- Whoo-ee!
01:09:48.400 --> 01:09:50.232
- Whoo-ee!
[laughs]
01:09:50.233 --> 01:09:53.566
[cheers and applause]
01:09:53.567 --> 01:09:54.899
- [weeping]
You bring me to tears.
01:09:54.900 --> 01:09:56.066
- Oh, sweetie.
01:09:56.067 --> 01:09:57.566
- You bring me to tears.
01:09:57.567 --> 01:09:58.567
- But you know what?
01:09:58.568 --> 01:09:59.732
The site will never open.
01:09:59.733 --> 01:10:01.666
George, the site will
never open now.
01:10:01.667 --> 01:10:02.667
- Miigwetch.
01:10:02.668 --> 01:10:04.332
- No, see,
it was you who did it.
01:10:04.333 --> 01:10:05.499
I mean, you guys,
01:10:05.500 --> 01:10:07.999
you women were so strong
and so brave,
01:10:08.000 --> 01:10:09.832
and you put up with tough times,
01:10:09.833 --> 01:10:11.332
and it was tough at that site.
01:10:11.333 --> 01:10:12.333
- You helped.
01:10:12.334 --> 01:10:13.999
- And, well,
we all did it together.
01:10:14.000 --> 01:10:15.166
- Honor... to honor her
01:10:15.167 --> 01:10:16.699
with some medicine
from my people too.
01:10:16.700 --> 01:10:17.700
- Oh.
01:10:17.701 --> 01:10:19.366
- My sweetgrass.
01:10:19.367 --> 01:10:21.532
- You held your sweetgrass
as people voted.
01:10:21.533 --> 01:10:22.699
Your sweetgrass, you did.
01:10:22.700 --> 01:10:23.966
I watched it.
01:10:23.967 --> 01:10:27.900
Your sweetgrass sent
the right vote out to everybody.
01:10:34.067 --> 01:10:35.399
- Well, my hope for Canada
01:10:35.400 --> 01:10:40.566
is that we will recognize
what is going to become
01:10:40.567 --> 01:10:44.399
more and more a fact
of economic life,
01:10:44.400 --> 01:10:48.466
which is that the water
is going to become a commodity
01:10:48.467 --> 01:10:50.399
more than it is today.
01:10:50.400 --> 01:10:53.066
It already is a commodity
in many parts of the world,
01:10:53.067 --> 01:10:54.966
in many parts
of the United States.
01:10:54.967 --> 01:10:57.632
- I don\'t understand
why the private sector
01:10:57.633 --> 01:11:02.632
should not provide a role
in providing public services.
01:11:02.633 --> 01:11:04.299
- We need innovative thinking
01:11:04.300 --> 01:11:06.299
with respect
to a blend of parties now
01:11:06.300 --> 01:11:09.132
as we think about
how we begin to capture
01:11:09.133 --> 01:11:12.132
some of these
monumental challenges,
01:11:12.133 --> 01:11:15.266
to exploit these challenges
that exist in longer range.
01:11:15.267 --> 01:11:17.532
- Ask yourself
the hard questions:
01:11:17.533 --> 01:11:20.699
does it serve Canada well
01:11:20.700 --> 01:11:24.032
to say that it will never
export any bulk water,
01:11:24.033 --> 01:11:29.300
or is there not a framework
by which Canada could benefit?
01:12:03.900 --> 01:12:06.900
[children shouting]
01:12:09.533 --> 01:12:12.533
[children laughing]
01:12:13.767 --> 01:12:16.767
[water splashing]
01:12:46.700 --> 01:12:49.700
[water rushing]
01:13:56.567 --> 01:13:59.232
- I\'m working with thousands
of people around the world
01:13:59.233 --> 01:14:00.399
to save the world\'s water
01:14:00.400 --> 01:14:02.899
for the Earth,
for other species,
01:14:02.900 --> 01:14:06.066
for ourselves,
and for future generations,
01:14:06.067 --> 01:14:11.899
as a public trust
and a human right.
01:14:11.900 --> 01:14:14.899
I believe that water could
become nature\'s gift to us,
01:14:14.900 --> 01:14:18.166
to teach us how to live
in peace with one another
01:14:18.167 --> 01:14:20.499
and in harmony with the Earth,
01:14:20.500 --> 01:14:23.167
if we had the wisdom to listen.
01:14:25.033 --> 01:14:28.033
[leaves rustling]
01:14:30.600 --> 01:14:36.600
[peaceful acoustic music]
01:17:04.300 --> 01:17:07.300
[water rushing]
01:17:10.733 --> 01:17:16.733
[ethereal music]
Distributor: Bullfrog Films
Length: 79 minutes
Date: 2011
Genre: Expository
Language: English
Grade: 10-12, College, Adult
Color/BW:
Closed Captioning: Available
Existing customers, please log in to view this film.
New to Docuseek? Register to request a quote.
Related Films
An unflinching examination of the big business of bottled water.
In Highland Park, MI an unelected, state-appointed Emergency Financial…