Council of Canadians Thunder Bay chapter activist Janice Horgos tells us this evening, “Great news! Following a presentation by our Thunder Bay Council of Canadians Blue Planet Committee, City Council adopted the three Blue Community resolutions at tonight’s Council meeting.”

Thunder Bay now becomes the 17th blue community in Canada.

Winning this designation has been a year-long fight.

On March 5, 2014, Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow wrote Thunder Bay Mayor Keith Hobbs. In her letter, she stated, “Following the presentation by the chapter on March 3, I am excited to provide this letter of support to their work in making Thunder Bay the next Blue Community… During the 2012 Great Lakes Need Great Friends public forum in Thunder Bay, I was incredibly moved by the active community who are standing up to protect the waters of the Great Lakes. Lake Superior is the cleanest of the lakes and we must do all that we can to protect it. Becoming a Blue Community is a simple but strong step towards protecting the Great Lakes as a lived commons to be shared, protected, carefully managed and enjoyed by all who live around them.”

Later that same month, the director of corporate affairs for Nestlé wrote in The Chronicle Journal newspaper about his corporation’s opposition to Thunder Bay becoming a blue community. Just days later, Horgos replied in a powerful letter to the editor that, “If there is a ‘Trojan horse-like conspiracy’ as Néstle claims, it’s the private water industry’s massive public relations campaign to undermine faith in public water in an effort to divert attention from its corporate takeover. Located at the headwaters of the world’s largest body of freshwater, becoming a Blue Community will confirm Thunder Bay as a leader in the protection of this shared public resource and help make our community and planet more sustainable.”

Congratulations to the Thunder Bay chapter for pushing back Nestlé and winning a blue community designation for their city! Furthermore, Horgos adds, “Mayor Hobbs, who is a former Chair of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative (GLSLCI), advised he would be putting the Blue Community Project on the next GLSLCI meeting agenda and encourage members to become blue communities.”

To learn more about the blue communities project, please click here.