(OTTAWA) The Council of Canadians applauds B.C. Environment Minister Cathy McGregor’s call for the federal government to live up to its obligations and protect Canada’s water from export.

"We’ve said from the beginning that the voluntary moratorium was a plan full of holes, and now the provinces are joining in," said Maude Barlow, National Volunteer Chair for The Council of Canadians. "This deal can’t protect water because it’s simply not NAFTA-proof. Corporations are turning up the pressure to export water and a voluntary accord between the provinces means that, if one province gives in, the floodgates to sell water are open everywhere."

Jamie Dunn, The Council’s water campaigner added, "The federal government is putting more effort into protecting trade deals than it is into protecting our water. They have to ban bulk water exports. It’s what the Federation of Canadian Municipalities overwhelmingly called for last weekend in Halifax. It’s what Canadians expect. If NAFTA stands in the way, then the government will have to deal with NAFTA."

The 100,000-member Council of Canadians has an ongoing national campaign to stop bulk water exports and the privatization and commodification of water.

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