Once water's a commodity, no chance to turn off the tap

Susan Howatt
Port Hope Evening Guide (ON), April 30, 2007

To the Editor:

I am delighted to hear that Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay has declared that Ottawa will not negotiate bulk water exports and is committed to protecting water in its natural state ("Canada will not sell bulk water, Norlock says," Port Hope Evening Guide, Page 1, April 27).

That, of course, is not what any reasonable person would believe after reading through the leaked document obtained by the Council of Canadians and posted on our website, which promised a meeting of government and business representatives to discuss the issue on Friday, April 27 in Calgary.

If the federal government were truly committed to protecting water in its natural state, it would seek an outright ban on the international bulk sales of water. Today, we are woefully vulnerable to our thirsty U.S. neighbours. All that exists is a voluntary provincial ban on bulk water exports that can be broken by any province at any time. (Newfoundland came close to selling its water a few years ago, but backed off under public pressure.)

With no binding legislation in place to protect boundary waters or the rivers and lakes in Canada's north, where the true prize lies, there exists only NAFTA, which could see water traded as a commodity, forever - with no chance to turn off the tap.

Susan Howatt / National Water Campaigner, Council of Canadians

Further reading:

• 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
• Bulk water exports