Canada. We ask you to read, consider, and then rise to meet our challenges and goals for the future
of water in our country.
"Humans need watersheds to survive; they supply our drinking water, and help with agriculture, and other
necessities. We must protect watersheds." - Kate
Reevey, NB
Individual Consumption
"My vision for a sustainable world is one where clean water is easily and conveniently accessible to everyone,
a world where everyone is aware of the consequences of mistreating our planet. " - Isabel Verbisky, ON
"Canadians use water without a thought, but to have a sustainable planet means everyone would have to be
aware of their impact on the environment and prevent people from using water excessively."
- Hannah O'Neil, BC
"People chop down forests and pollute air and water indiscriminately for their own gain, not knowing or not
caring what effect it has on the planet. We need to change this." - Mitra Morgan, BC
The majority of water on earth is not available for humans to access or drink. Greater than
two-thirds of Earth's freshwater is frozen in glaciers and ice sheets, in inaccessible regions such as
Antarctica and Greenland (although glacial melt is a very important water source in some regions of
Canada). Groundwater makes up the remainder of our freshwater supply that we use in agriculture,
industry, and for our personal supplies. As we know, Canadians use an average of 251 litres of water
per person every day. This makes Canada one of the largest consumers of freshwater in the world.
1 2
With this statistic, taken alongside the decrease of freshwater resources and accelerating demands
in all sectors of use, we believe that consequences will be palpable in the near future.
As individual Canadians, we are responsible for our actions and the effects they have on the
environment. Freshwater is incredibly important to the environmental and economic health of our
country. We need to change our individual behaviour by changing our water-use behaviours. This
can be done by taking shorter showers, upgrading to newer washing machines, dishwashers, hot
water tanks, low-flow toilets, and showerheads. Every Canadian needs to reflect on their
1
"Residential Water Use," Government of Canada. Last modified, April 10, 2017,
https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/environmental-indicators/residential-water-use.html
2
"OECD Factbook: Economic, Environmental and Social Statistics," Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD). Last modified, 06 May 2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/factbook-2014-en
