CBC National news reports, “Nearly half of Detroit’s water customers are in arrears so the city is disconnecting service at an unprecedented pace. 12,500 in the last 90 days though some have paid up to get their water back. …A group here in Canada has taken up the cause. The Council of Canadians helped launched a formal complaint against Detroit’s water department to the United Nations. Three UN experts agreed saying for those who cannot pay denying access to water is a human rights violation. Barlow also plans to take this matter to the White House.”
In that CBC news report, Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow says, “It’s as clear a human rights abuse as I’ve seen even in very poor countries. In my opinion it’s a social crime and it’s an appalling thing to do in the heat of summer.”
Additionally, the New York Times reports today, “‘I’ve seen water problems in poor countries and the third world’, said Maude Barlow, the board chairwoman of the nonprofit Food and Water Watch. ‘But I’ve never seen this in the United States, never.'”
To watch the CBC news report, click here.
The New York Times article can be found here.
Further reading
Violations of the right to water in Detroit highlighted, UN responds.
Council of Canadians to organize water convoy to Detroit.
