1998: Sun Belt Water Inc.
A California company files suit under Chapter 11 of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), after British Columbia bans the export of bulk water. Sun Belt sought to export Canadian water to California and is seeking $10.5 billion in damages. [close]

2006: Adams Lake proposal
A Kamloops entrepreneur applies to the B.C. government for a licence to drain one million imperial gallons of water a day for export to the Middle East. The proposal is withdrawn after strong opposition by the B.C. chapter of the Sierra Club of Canada and the Council of Canadians. [close]

2007: North American Future 2025 Project
The Council of Canadians blows the whistle on a closed-door meeting in Calgary on bulk water exports, after receiving a leaked document revealing the aims of the North American Future Project 2025. [close]

1998: Nova Corporation
In Ontario, Premier Mike Harris issues a permit to the Nova Corporation to export water in tankers to sell on the Asian market. Public outcry led by the Council of Canadians forces the government to cancel the permit, triggering negotiations between Ontario, Quebec and the eight U.S. states surrounding the Great Lakes over water removals from the lakes. [close]

2005: Great Lakes Charter Annex
On December 13, the Great Lakes Charter Annex Implementing Agreement is signed by Ontario, Quebec and the eight U.S. states that border the Great Lakes. Although it purports to ban diversions from the Great Lakes, the Annex allows for diversions to straddling communities and counties in the Great Lakes basin, including the controversial Chicago diversion. [close]

2004: Tay River
Council of Canadians activists declare victory after Ontario's new provincial government cancels the controversial water-taking permit issued by former premier Mike Harris to OMYA Canada Inc. The permit would have allowed the Swiss-based transnational to take approximately 4.5 million litres of water per day from the Tay River near Perth, Ontario. [close]

2004: Quebec
Environment Minister Thomas Mulcair signals that he's interested in pursuing bulk water exports from Quebec, despite a 2001 provincial ban. Public outcry causes the Quebec government to hold off. [close]

2001: Amendment of International Boundary Waters Treaty
The Canadian government amends the International Boundary Waters Treaty Act, in an attempt to prohibit bulk removals from boundary water basins within Canada. This amendment applies only to boundary waters and not groundwater or surface waters, and provides no protection for the rivers of Canada's north. [close]

2001: Gisborne Lake
In Newfoundland, the government of Premier Roger Grimes states that there are no legal or environmental obstacles to his plan to export water in bulk from Gisborne Lake. The Council of Canadians rallies opposition to Grimes's plan, and the government backs down, but only after determining that potential profits wouldn't have been as high as anticipated. [close]