Three words that invariably lead to a heated discussion in Canada are: "bulk water exports". For many this translates as "should Canada allow our clean water to be taken from our lakes and rivers and shipped to water wasteful United States leaving us high and dry?" The issue surfaced again recently when a Quebec think tank - the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) released a paper - Freshwater exports for the development of Quebec’s blue gold arguing that large-scale exports of fresh water would be a wealth-creating idea for Quebec and for Canada.

It concluded Quebec could generate $65-billion a year in gross revenue by exporting 10% of the one trillion cubic metres of "renewable fresh water" available to it each year, according to Marcel Boyer, MEI’s chief economist and vice-president. That estimate was based on a price equal to 65 cents a cubic metre, that Boyer says is the cost to desalinate sea water. Even a royalty of just 10% would generate $6.5-billion a year in income. The implication is tat Quebec has water to spare - holding 3% of the world’s reserves of fresh water but using only 0.5% of its renewable reserves.

Reaction was swift. "Canada’s precious fresh water resource belongs to the people and cannot be bundled and privatized at the whim of government and corporate interests," said Joe Cressy, campaign co-coordinator at Ottawa’s Polaris Institute. "Water is a fundamental human right and any attempt to divert or export it, whether to the U.S. or Saudi Arabia, must defer to what’s in the broad Canadian public interest," he added. "In a pre-election cycle there’s great pressure from corporations to allow the export of fresh water. If Quebec went ahead, other provinces would have to follow."

In April 2007 Environment Minister John Baird, responding to media reports of trilateral negotiations between Canada, Mexico and the United States on bulk water exports and diversions, stated: "The Government of Canada has no intention of entering into negotiations, behind closed doors or otherwise, regarding the issue of bulk water exports. Canada has restrictions in place to prohibit bulk removal of water, including diversion, backed by serious fines and/or imprisonment. Canada is committed to protecting water in its natural state and to preserving the integrity of ecosystems, and will continue to do so."

This long-standing position against bulk water removal is consistent with the 1993 statement of NAFTA countries that, "unless water in any form has entered into commerce and become a good or product, it is not covered by the provisions of any trade agreement including the NAFTA".

But, notes the MEI paper "...the provinces have primary responsibility for managing water on their territory, whereas the federal government has responsibility for boundary waters within the limits set out by the International Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909." This only confirms that the issue of bulk water exports is far from clear and far from settled.

In April 2008, the Polaris Institute released a report called Turning on Canada’s Tap that outlined why Canada needs a comprehensive policy and strategy on bulk water exports to the United States. It noted Canada’s reputation as a water rich nation is misleading and bears rethinking in the light of mounting US freshwater demands. The MEI report was criticized for other issues, namely its approach in using the cost of desalinization to determine the offset price for fresh water. However, the broader issue of bulk water exports remains an unresolved political, economic and environmental issue of considerable moment, one that is not likely to go away quickly.

Contact Info: Frank Came Editor GLOBE-Net frank.came@globe.ca

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