Each year for the past 15 years, March 22 has been recognized as International Water Day, which advocates for the importance of freshwater and the sustainable management of freshwater resources.
This year, the Chilliwack Chapter of the Council of Canadians has paired with the WaterWealth Project to host a free screening of the film, Water Warriors, on March 21, at 6:30 p.m.
“We are fortunate to have the beautiful Gathering Place on the unceded territory of the Soowahlie people,” said Suz Coulter in an email. The screening, Coulter adds, will take place at the Indigenous Learning Centre at the UFV, Chilliwack Education Park, at 45190 Caen Avenue.
Water Warriors Trailer from Storyline on Vimeo.
The film, a 22-minute documentary filmed by Michael Premo, has won numerous awards and is based on the 2013 fracking battle fought on Canada’s eastern coast.
When Texas-based SWN Resources moved in on New Brunswick to explore for natural gas, a group of unlikely warriors–including members of the Mi’kmaq Elsipogtog First Nation, French-speaking Acadians and white, English-speaking families–established a resistance that eventually saw a stop to the drilling and changed the province’s politics and laws surrounding fracking.
Because the need for clean, freshwater is global, Coulter says there will be a chance for discourse after the film ends where issues like building community alliances to protect local resources will be discussed.
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