WINNIPEG--The Canadian Federation of Students–Manitoba congratulates the Selinger Government for joining with students and public water advocates to reject bottled water and embrace a healthier, more ecological, and more economical alternative: tap water.

"By ending the purchase of small, single-use bottles of drinking water, the Manitoba government is taking a step in the right direction," said Marakary Bayo, Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students-Manitoba. "Water from the tap has been shown to be cheaper, safer, and better for the environment than bottled water."

Over the past decade, sales of bottled water have skyrocketed. For-profit water has beenmarketed aggressively on campuses, in workplaces, in schools, and at public events, while public water fountains have been disappearing. Since May 2008, the Canadian Federation of Students-Manitoba, along with the Polaris Institute, has promoted the Bottled Water Free Manitobacampaign.

Added Bayo: "We are very pleased that the Bottled Water Free Manitoba campaign has had so many successes. With this provincial government announcement, Manitoba has emerged as a leader in ditching the bottle and returning to the tap."

The Bottled Water Free Manitoba campaign encourages people to view the bottled waterindustry's claims with a critical eye. As a result, more and more institutions are kicking the bottled water habit because:
• bottled water is associated with excessive energy consumption, needless waste, andprofiteering;
• governments spend millions of dollars a year on bottled water;
• it takes 3 litres of water to produce 1 litre of bottled water; and
• tap water is safer-it is tested 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, to rigorous standards,while for-profit water is tested only periodically, to standards that meet bottom line requirements.

Already in Manitoba, the University of Winnipeg, Brandon University, the Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface, and several municipalities have gone bottled water free.Concluded Bayo: "The Canadian Federation of Students-Manitoba will continue to urgegovernments and institutions to replace all forms of bottled water with tap water and to ensure that everyone has access to good, public water."The Canadian Federation of Students is Canada's largest student organization, uniting more thanone-half million students across the country and over 40,000 students in Manitoba.