Water Campaign Questions

“Would your party support a comprehensive national water policy that bans the bulk export of fresh water? ”
According to a 2008 Environics Research poll, 88% of Canadians aggree that Canada should adpot such a policy. Our government, however, continues to leave water on the trading block; both through NAFTA, and through ongoing, closed-door, deep integration initiatives between Canada, the U.S., and Mexico.

“Would your party support a comprehensive national water policy that recognizes clean drinking water as a basic human right? ”
According to a the same 2008 Environics Research poll, 88% of Canadians also agree that Canada's national water policy should recognize clean drinking water as a basic human right. In the spring of this year, our government single-handedly blocked a U.N. resolution to recognize water as a human right.

“Do you support strengthening the Fisheries Act to protect our freshwater lakes from being destroyed by toxic mine waste? ”
Lakes that would normally be protected as fish habitat by the Fisheries Act are now being redefined as “tailing impoundment areas” according to a 2002 “schedule” added to the Metal Mining Effluent Regulations of the Act. Once added to Schedule 2, healthy fresh water lakes lose all protection and become dump sites for mining waste. In 2006, two lakes in Newfoundland were added to Schedule 2 and more recently two lakes in Nunavut were approved for destruction.