The Council replies: Letters to the editor

We need to protect Canada's water

Susan Howatt
National Post, May 17, 2007
Re: Plentiful water not assured, report warns, May 14, 2007

This article underscores a glaring need for federal action to protect water in Canada. But Natural Resources Canada's chief hydrogeologist is wrong when he says that current international treaties protect surface water from the threat of bulk exports.

The amendment to the International Boundary Waters Treaty fails to ban water exports because it applies only to the waters that we share with the United States and would do nothing to protect the waters of Canada's north.

Members of the House of Commons Committee on International Trade recognize that our current obligations under NAFTA preclude Canada's ability to ban bulk water exports. The committee is currently debating a motion that explicitly withdraws water from the agreement.

Last month, the Council of Canadians learned about the North American Futures 2025 Project, a trilateral initiative confirming all our worst fears: that big business reps and government officials were meeting behind closed doors to discuss "water transfers and artificial diversions of bulk water."

Now we find out that government scientists say it will take 30 years to do an inventory of our water supply. Profitthirsty corporations want to move much faster than that. We need a national policy that protects Canada's water now.

Susan Howatt, national water campaigner, the Council of Canadians, Ottawa.

Further reading:

• Read more about the Council of Canadians' water campaign
• Leaked document: North American Future 2025 Project (PDF format)
  Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
• Backgrounder: The North American Future 2025 Project (PDF format)
  The Council of Canadians’ analysis