Water debate

The city will discourage the public from buying bottled water at Thunder Bay facilities but will still allow them to purchase it.

The decision was an amendment to a larger policy, which was approved by city council Monday night, to educate the public about bottled water and promote the use of municipal drinking water.

Council heard from Nestle Waters Canada spokesman John Challinor that while his company agrees with most of council’s resolution, prohibiting bottled water sales would force people to choose unhealthy alternatives, including soft drinks.

He added that the bottles generated from that choice would be more costly to the environment.

"All banning bottled water does is replace one piece of plastic with another piece of plastic," Challinor said. "When bottled water isn’t available most consumers say they revert back to the other bottled beverage they were drinking."

Coun. Joe Virdiramo agreed. Virdiramo said if anything the city should be more concerned with removing unhealthy alternatives rather than water.

"Why don’t we replace all things in the cooler with bottled water…why are we eliminating a choice that people may want to make instead of pop?" Viridiramo asked.

But Community Environmental Action Plan co-ordinator Sarah Kerton said while the move would help the environment, it would also put the public’s focus on drinking municipal water.

"Opting to drink tap water is about making a commitment to the environment and municipal services," Kerton said.

Also Monday, council voted unanimously to not allow city bars to serve alcohol at 10 a.m. during the World Cup from June 11 to July 11. Coun. Aldo Ruberto, who moved the motion, said allowing bars to serve earlier would send the wrong message to the public.

The provincial government recently announced that Ontario bars could open an hour earlier due to the World Cup schedule in South Africa but that municipalities had the option to disallow it. Ruberto said Thunder Bay Police Services agreed with city council’s decision.

"This is a Toronto initiative that does not make sense in Thunder Bay," Ruberto said.