ENI – Members of Canada's largest Protestant denomination are going to drink tap water at future meetings and not the bottled variety that has become institutionalised at gatherings, if church leaders have their way.
United Church of Canada leaders say this stems from decisions made at the general council of the church when the denomination's main decision-making body demanded an end to the privatisation of water.
“Bottled water containers labelled with images of pristine natural environments are rapidly becoming a major threat to the environment and to our health,” notes the Web site of KAIROS, a social justice group supported by the United, Presbyterian and other churches.
“The bottled water industry's marketing of 'safe, clean water' undermines citizens' confidence in public water systems, and paves the way for the water companies to take over underfunded public utilities.”In 1990, 51 million people worldwide got their water from private companies, but by 2003, the number had increased to 300 million.
