An American documentary highly critical of the bottled water industry, which was pulled from a local screening by city hall following pressure from a Nestlé Waters Canada official, will be shown Monday at the U of G’s War Memorial Hall.
The free 7:15 p.m. Oct. 15 screening of the documentary Tapped is being co-sponsored by Wellington Water Watchers, the Guelph chapter of the Council of Canadians, the Guelph Wellington Coalition for Social Justice and the U of G’s Central Student Association. Maude Barlow, national chair of the Council of Canadians, will speak at 7 p.m. before the screening.
Wellington Water Watchers and the city’s water services department planned to show Tapped Sept. 17, as part of the free showing of three water-related films at different city-owned venues over a two-week period in September.
However, city hall cancelled the showing of Tapped after Nestlé Waters Canada director of corporate affairs John Challinor sent a letter to Mayor Karen Farbridge complaining about the film, which he claimed sets out to “demonize bottled water.”
After a review, city hall decided not to screen the film as planned. In a letter of reply, Farbridge told Challinor that city staff had reassessed and amended the film offerings “in recognition of local sensitivities” outlined in Challinor’s letter.
“However, local community members or groups may nevertheless choose to hold screenings of the documentary in question at non-city-supported events,” Farbridge wrote, “and the city respects the rights of our citizens to do so as a matter of free speech, public assembly and community participation.”