MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 6, 2007

Council of Canadians supports vote to exclude water from NAFTA

The Council of Canadians congratulates all members of parliament who voted to exclude water from the North American Free Trade Agreement on June 05, 2007.

The motion was passed in the House of Commons by a vote of 134 to 108.  Tabled by the Standing Committee on International Trade, the motion recommends that the Federal government “begin talks with its American and Mexican counterparts to exclude water from the scope of NAFTA.”

 “We have been warning the government for years about the dangers posed by NAFTA to Canada’s water,” says Maude Barlow, Chairperson of the Council of Canadians.  Barlow spoke to the Standing Committee on International Trade last month about the need for a national water policy that would ban bulk water exports to the United States.

“We are proud of our elected officials for taking the responsibility to protect Canada’s water,” says Barlow. “We now expect our government to take the House’s direction on this matter despite the fact that all Conservative Party members voted against the motion.”

Opposition parties pushed the motion forward in response to a leaked document obtained by the Council of Canadians revealing that bulk water exports were being discussed at a closed-door trinational meeting involving the governments of Canada, Mexico and the United States within the framework of the Security and Prosperity Partnership.

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For more information, please contact:
Meera Karunananthan Media Officer: Tel.: (613) 233-4487, ext. 234; Cell: (613) 795-8685;.

Resources:

• Water exports
• 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
• Read more about the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America
• Once water's a commodity, no chance to turn off the tap, Susan Howatt, Port Hope Evening Guide (ON), April 30, 2007
• Click here to read the June 4, 2007 motion that went to the House of Commons.
• Visit the Hansard for Monday June 4, 2007 at and scroll down almost to the end of the document, you will find under 'Routine Proceedings' (at 6:55 pm) the listing of the MPs who voted in favour or against this motion.