Oshawa becomes a blue dot

By Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express

The City of Oshawa has followed the lead of nearly 100 municipalities across the country in moving to ratify a Blue Dot declaration.

The movement, initiated by the David Suzuki Foundation, is looking for cities to ratify a declaration stating they recognize their citizens’ rights to fresh air, clean drinking water and healthy foods.

To date, 93 municipalities have ratified such declarations and over 86,000 Canadians have also joined the movement, including 290 in Oshawa, to help support the Blue Dot’s main goal of getting the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms changed in order to recognize these basic rights.

“A city like Oshawa should take the initiative as a front running municipality,” said Mackenzie Ross, a student at Durham College and main driving force behind the movement in Oshawa. “It’s a grassroots initiative and it’s working its way up through the people.”

A declaration that would see Oshawa become a Blue Dot community was passed unanimously through the Development Services committee on Oct. 26 and will go before council at their next meeting on Nov. 9.