OTTAWA – NDP MP Paul Dewar (Ottawa Centre) has tabled a bill to improve labeling regulations for bottled water.

“Despite what advertising campaigns keep telling us, there is nothing pure about bottled water” said Dewar. “Everyday Canadians should have the information about the chemical contents inside the bottle which can have a serious impact on their health”.

Dewar’s bill will give Canadians the right to know the source of the water, added ingredients, the date of packaging, the expiry date, the manufacturer’s toll-free telephone number and a warning about the possibility of chemical leaching from the bottle into the water. Furthermore, the bill requires the manufacturer to print the statement “refrigerate after opening” on the labels in order to reduce the chances of excessive microbial growth and contamination in the bottle.

“The bottled water industry is vastly under-regulated in terms of water quality and safety, and the environmental impacts of its products,” said Tony Clarke, Director of the Polaris Institute and author of Inside the Bottle: Exposing the Bottled Water Industry. “As well as having found bacteriological and chemical contaminants in bottled water, several independent scientific studies have also shown that tap water is much more frequently tested and strictly regulated. Bottled water must be held to the same standards as public drinking water,”

“We should be scrutinizing the health and environmental impacts of bottled water much more closely,” said Aaron Freeman, Policy Director of Environmental Defence. “Tap water is tested more often, for a greater number of contaminants. Consumers have no reason to trust that what’s in the bottle is safer than what comes out of the tap.”

Approximately 20% of Canadians exclusively drink bottled water and it is generally believed to be of higher quality than local public water. But according to scientific studies, the chemical, bacteriological and radiological contents of bottled water in Canada are inconsistent with guidelines established for public water. Furthermore, the environmental impact of the industry is of serious concern and the advertising campaigns undermine public trust in local water systems.

“Strong labeling regulations will give Canadians a clear idea of what’s really in the bottle” concluded Dewar. “But that’s just the first step – the government must reinforce public trust in our local water systems by revamping our public water infrastructure and regulating the environmental impact of the industry”.