It seemed as if everyone was talking
about water this year. Whether it
was the Harper government denying
the fact that bulk water exports
were ever “on the table” during SPP
negotiations, or the thousands of
people who participated in World Water
Day activities, 2007 was a significant year for the Council’s national water
campaign.
One highlight of the year came in April,
when the Council of Canadians obtained
a leaked document revealing that government
and business representatives from
Canada, the U.S. and Mexico were set
to discuss bulk water exports in a closeddoor
meeting. The “North American
Future 2025 Project,” organized by the
U.S. Center for Strategic and International
Studies (CSIS), The Conference Board
of Canada and the Mexican Centro de
Investigación y Docencia Económicas,
was set to meet on April 27 in Calgary to
discuss “water consumption, water transfers
and artificial diversions of bulk water” with
the aim of achieving “joint optimum utilization
of the available water.”
On April 25, the Council of Canadians
held an “open-door” meeting in
Calgary to discuss the looming threats
to Canadian water posed by North
American integration. By April 27, the
Harper government had pulled its representatives
from the CSIS meeting.
It’s no wonder that the federal government
was feeling the pressure to take
action on bulk water exports. Only weeks
before, Susan Howatt, the Council’s
National Water Campaigner, had delivered
45,000 petitions to Environment
Minister John Baird’s office, in honour of
World Water Day. The petitions demanded
a national water policy that would
protect Canada’s water from privatization,
commodification and bulk exports,
capping off a national day of action
that unified activists in 58 communities
across the country.
In 2007 we were thrilled to see all three
opposition parties vote to support a
motion to exclude water from the scope
of NAFTA. This only added to the chorus
of opposition to bulk water exports,
and placed even more pressure on the
Harper government to take action for
Canada’s water in the months ahead.
There are so many opportunities to get involved in the fight for a better Canada. Consider joining your local chapter today. |
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Annual report 2007 (including summary statement of revenue and expenditure)
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