Putting Harper on Notice:
World Water Day to highlight the need for a national water policy
We are in the midst of a
crucial political moment
in the fight to protect
Canada’s water. All four
opposition parties are
calling for a ban on bulk
water exports and stronger environmental
protections for the water in Canada’s
lakes, oceans and rivers. Even prominent
Conservative politicians are admitting
that Canada’s water is under threat, due
to trade agreements like NAFTA and
the SPP. The question is, how much
pressure will it take before the Harper
government finally takes action?
The federal government knows that
citizens are concerned about Canada’s
water. In 2005 the Prime Minister’s
Office received 120,000 letters, emails
and phone calls on the subject of bulk
water exports and water privatization.
This was the second largest volume of
communications on any issue – second
only to same-sex marriage.
Sudden interest
The Liberal party is in the midst of crafting
a policy that they say will beef up the
government’s management and protection
of water. The party has also tabled
a proposal for a new Water Stewardship
Minister, who could help bring order to a
maze of more than 20 departments that
set federal policies affecting water.
Last spring, the Bloc Québécois
introduced a motion to the Standing
Committee on International Trade that
recommended that the government
quickly begin talks with its American
and Mexican counterparts to exclude
water from the scope of NAFTA.
It passed in June 2007 with support
from all of the parties except the
Conservatives.
In March, Peggy Nash of the NDP
introduced a motion in the House of
Commons calling for a comprehensive
water policy that recognizes access to
clean water as a human right, prohibits
bulk water exports, invests in infrastructure
and ensures water does not become
a commodity. The Green Party has also
demonstrated support for a federal water
policy.
Missing in action
The overwhelming chorus of support
for stronger policies that would protect
Canada’s water has left the Harper government
isolated. Even Conservative
Senator Pat Carney, who was one of
the chief negotiators of NAFTA, now
acknowledges that the agreement could
open the door to bulk water exports, and
has put forward a bill to change this.
Meanwhile, Canadian infrastructure is
crumbling. The Canadian Federation
of Municipalities reported at the end
of 2007 that national infrastructure
is “near collapse” and that a $123 billion
injection is needed immediately to
address the crisis, including $35 billion
for water services alone. The Harper
government responded by saying that
it is not in the “pothole business,” flippantly
ignoring municipalities’ desperate
need for new resources.
And while the feds may not be in the
pothole business, they sure are in the
public-private partnership business. In
November, the Conservatives unveiled a
$1.25 billion Public Private Partnerships
Fund, which seeks to “support innovative
projects that provide an alternative
to traditional government infrastructure
procurement” (emphasis ours) and “facilitate
a broader use of P3s in Canadian
infrastructure projects.”
Canadian Perspectives readers are well
aware by now of the problems associated
with P3s, including skyrocketing costs,
diminished quality and unaccountable
management. But the Conservatives are
determined to push the P3 model, at
the expense of Canada’s deteriorating
water infrastructure.
Celebrate World Water Day
Last year on World Water Day, we
paid Environment Minister John Baird
a visit to drop off 45,000 petitions from
Canadians demanding a national water
policy that will protect Canadian waters
from privatization, diversions and bulk
water exports. We haven’t heard back
from him – have you?
On March 22, join activists from
across Canada to demand that
the federal government take action
to protect Canada’s water. Visit
www.canadians.org/WorldWaterDay for more information
and to find out how you can get
involved in your community.
Susan Howatt is the National Water Campaigner at the Council of Canadians.
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