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This week, the Galloping Geezer gives us his first in a series of reports on the Summit Meetings on the Preservation of Fresh Water held at Wahta Community Centre in Bala Ontario last week.

Canadian Culture is indebted to Jack for his willingness to attend this important conference on the future of Canada's water as our representative.

Read the report and tell us what you think.

See other articles from the Galloping Geezer click here

Drinking Water in Canada

a CBC commentary
by Dr. Hans Peterson, Safe Drinking Water Foundation
Aired January 8, 2001

The events of the past several months should make one thing clear to all of us. Canadians have taken our water supplies and the safety of our water for granted. After all, we have the most abundant supply of fresh water in the world. But there are really two Canadas with two very different stories. Our large cities have lots of high quality water. Much of it drains wilderness areas before it forms large rivers or lakes. Then to make sure that this water is safe to drink, cities have engineers, chemists and microbiologists experimenting with treatment processes. They search for the best ways to handle their own local water supplies. Contrast this with rural Canada. The water supplies are typically very small and of poor quality. The water has drained mostly farmland with close contact to livestock and human waste. While E. coli has made most of the headlines, there are other problems that are more difficult to remove from the water. This includes parasites, viruses, and organic material dissolved in the water. Most cities would have nightmares treating this type of water. And here comes the other strike against rural Canada. It's the water system itself. The people running the treatment plants often lack the necessary education and training, as the public is now discovering. These rural systems also have poor equipment and too little money to deal with such challenging water supplies. And unlike the cities, rural Canada has no dedicated research laboratories trying to find solutions to their water quality problems. Meanwhile Canada is ill-equipped to deal with these issues. The federal government has moved the responsibility for safe drinking water over to the provinces. Every province has its own set of guidelines and is supposed to find its own set of solutions. In turn the provinces are handing off the challenge to individual communities. The end result is a sudden rash of boil water advisories issued mainly to very small rural communities in the aftermath of the Walkerton tragedy.In other developed countries the federal level controls water quality so as to ensure the same quality everywhere. In fact, the European Union assumes this responsibility and individual countries must toe the line. These countries have also enshrined regulations, not guidelines. The problem with rural drinking water in Canada is greater than any provincial government can tackle. We need a nation-wide strategy that will help rural communities deal with their water quality issues. Until that happens, we will see continuing headlines about unsafe drinking water.

More info visit - Safe Water.org

A part of my live - My challenge

Hi!

My name is Antoni. I am 20 years old and I'm from Poland. I found your webpage while I was visiting Canadian shopping on the internet. I have read the article "Welcome" and I decided to describe my story. But do not care about mistake I'm always doing because I have learned english for two years. I hope that you will understand what I want to tell you.

I'm only 20 years old and I'm going to go on a university since october and I have the challange , I would love to go to canada and setting down there. You wrote in the" welcome" that "...Canada is seen as country cousin to our American neighbors..." "...Some people think Canada has no real identity..." I have never been to Canada and I don't know in fact is it true but I can tell you what do Polish think about Canadiens. I have heard that Canadians are very honest people, rich, and that an environment in Canada is clean and wild. Everything I have heard about Canada and Canadians is good things. I know living everywhere isn't easy, everywhere are criminals, crimes, people without home poor and rich people, I realize it however I have told you what people in Poland say.

My life - I'm a good student ,I guees but I wasn't earlier. Five years ago I went to a high school. I made new friends and I didn't have a goal in life, I knew that I had to learn well etc. (My parents were telling me it) Of course I didn't care about it like most teenangres and a began to learn wore and wore and I almost didn't pass the third level. I was play hookie I drank alcohol etc. , you know , It is an influence of peers. I wasn't happy because I pretended someone other. But there is a point in my live which has changed my ideas about live completly. It was a sightseeing trip to Scandynavia. I discovered my spirit, found out what I would like to do . I just love Northen country, culture. I thought I would love to live in Canada. (My oncle was an immigrant after the second world war , and when he lived he sent me books and described in his letters the country.) I have never been to Canada well I have not known Canadians but I would like to get know. Living everywhere isn't easy but it doesn't mean I have to live in Poland. Now I'm a new man , I have changed completely . I will begin in october the university ( www.wsb-nlu.edu.pl ), I study English and German now. I hope it will help me to my dream come true.

sincerely hopeful
Antoni Baran from Poland

Canadian Featured Book of the Week


Do's & Don'ts Around the World:A Country Guide to Cultural & Social Taboos & Etiquette - U. S. A., Canada & Australia
Author Gladson I. Nwanna

click here for more information

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