Water
Water is vital to people’s health and livelihoods. In Canada, there is no national strategy to address urgent water issues and no federal leadership to conserve and protect our water. The Federal Water Policy is over 20 years old and badly outdated. Our freshwater faces crises including contamination, shortages and pressure to export water to the United States through pipelines and diversions.
Download the Council of Canadians 2008 General Water Presentation:
Powerpoint, 551KB
Adobe PDF, 391KB

Support our World Water Day action - Tell PM Harper 'Water is for people, not profit' visit www.RightToWater.ca and sign our letter.
Action
Support the Shabot Obaajiwan First Nation people in protecting their watershed from uranium mining.
ACTION ALERT: Canada needs a national water policy
ACTION ALERT: Harper must recognize the right to water
Protect British Columbia's Sacred Headwaters from becoming a coalbed methane gas field scarred by a maze of wells, pipelines and roads.
Join the campaign!
Petition to the Government of Canada: Canada must oppose privatization of water and recognize water as a basic human right!
Featured fact sheets
Canada’s water under pressure: Five reasons to oppose bulk water exports October 2007
A National Disgrace: Canada’s shameful position on the right to water October 2007
Global water movement grows in numbers and force October 2007
Bulk water exports
In April 2007, the Council of Canadians obtained a leaked document produced by a Washington think tank, revealing that business and government leaders in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico are actively discussing bulk water exports. They met in Calgary on April 27, 2007 to discuss the issue in a closed-door meeting as part of a larger discussion on North American integration. Click here to read more about bulk water exports, the leaked document and analysis.
Two reports released by The Program on Water Issues, Munk Centre for International Studies:
Letter to Prime Minister Harper (PDF) on International Women’s Day to call on the Canadian government to endorse the right to water.
Declaration on the Right to Water (PDF)
NEW for teachers! Lesson Plan provided by the Council of Canadians.
Includes key questions, talking points, sample municipal water declaration, follow-up activities.

The Council of Canadians’ water campaign is calling for a national water policy that protects Canada’s water from bulk exports and privatization, because:
- The free market doesn’t guarantee access to water;
- Bulk exports could open the floodgates to trade challenges;
- Canada’s water supply is limited;
- Public water is safer, cleaner and more affordable; and
- Water is essential for people and nature.
Click here to find out how Deep Integration affects Water.

Visit the Blue Planet Project website. It is an international civil society movement begun by The Council of Canadians to protect the world’s fresh water from the growing threats of trade and privatization. |