While the World Thirsts, We Run the Tap

Canada and Water Accountability: Close Your Taps

Canada has 20% of the global freshwater, making it one of the most water-abundant countries to exist. Canadians use around 223 litres of water. The United States uses around 80-100 gallons of water per day, per person. From the perspective of the 2.2 billion people with a lack of adequate water access, this is pretty heavenly. Globally people go to great lengths to secure water, but Canadian citizens barely give water usage a second thought. 

That is one in four people without proper access to safe water. People struggling with water get around one to five gallons a day for everything; this means no basic standards of hygiene are met: no proper showers, no laundry, no toilet flushes, no dishwashing, just the bare minimum water for drinking and cooking. And this water isn't even clean; 1.7 billion have drinking water sources contaminated with feces. 

Living your everyday life in peace and comfort with running water is such a norm, but it's also a dangerous cause of global water waste. Everyday household water use in Canada can be cut down by 25% with no effects on standards of living, and this much clean water being reduced from our population is considered enough to serve half the population in Africa that struggles with basic drinking water services. 

Water Companies: The Fiji Disaster

Salaaz has previously highlighted the ethical dilemmas of global beverage giants like Coca-Cola and Nestlé that take excessive water from vulnerable global communities. But you may want to also take a step back from the boujee Fiji water that everyone raves on about after hearing what happens in Fiji: 

• 45% of the population in Fiji drink contaminated water. 

• This is because of a lack of adequate infrastructure built. 

• The Fiji Water company celebrates its 500 million revenue from this water-struggling island while using around 1.75 gallons of their water per bottle. 

• Fiji Water has been tax-exempt for decades from the Fiji government, until the government posed new regulations in 2010 with some resistance.  

The president and vice chair of Fiji Water’s parent company, “The Wonderful Company,” donates around 7.7 billion to Israel, a country internationally recognized for its ongoing war crimes and extermination of Palestinians. Half of Gaza's population survives on less than six litres of water per day due to direct damage caused by Israeli Defence Forces, while the average Israelite continues to use over 200 litres of water a day. The name ‘The Wonderful Company’ reads as ironic once you look at how it treats its ethical responsibilities.

Nice Water in Nice Bottles

No need to compromise ethics for high-quality and convenient water bottles; with Ice River available at local grocery stores, it is easy to choose sustainability.

Ice River: Natural Spring Water

• 100% recycled plastic 

• Family-run Local Canadian Company Operations 

• Transparent commitment to water quality and stewardship 

But the best option for the planet would be to simply cut water bottle usage and switch to reusable bottles. Here are some nicely sourced bamboo water bottles.

Access to water is a human right, yet millions survive on just a few gallons while Canadians waste freely. Choosing ethical brands like Ice River, or better yet, reusable bottles, can reduce waste and support fairness. Every tap turned off, every bottle skipped, is a small step toward global water justice.