The Montreal Economic Institute, a business-backed research group, recently released a report that concluded “Large-scale exports of fresh water would be a wealth-creating idea for Quebec and for Canada as a whole.”

It’s not a new idea. Industry and government have eyed water as a profitable commodity for years and have considered schemes such as diverting rivers and exporting bulk shipments of water from Canada to the United States.

It may be wealth-creating, but for whom? And is it a good idea?
The Council of Canadians argues that it isn’t, and we agree.

On its website (www.canadians.org/), the Council lists five reasons we shouldn’t consider selling our water:

1. Canada does not have a surplus of water. Contrary to popular belief, Canada holds 6.5 per cent of the world’s renewable water resources (as compared to the incorrect figure of 20 per cent being touted by corporate leaders). More than one quarter of municipalities have faced shortages in recent years, and only 1 per cent of water in the Great Lakes is renewable.

2. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. Water is a finite resource. Bulk water exports permanently remove water from the ecosystem at a time when climate change is already drying up traditional surface water sources like the Great Lakes.

3. Trade agreements could open the floodgates. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) defines water as a “service” and an “investment,” leaving Canadian water vulnerable to thirsty foreign investors. Once Canada allows water to be diverted outside our borders for large scale industrial purposes, foreign investors must be given the same “national treatment” as Canadian companies.

4. Canada has no ban on bulk exports. There is a voluntary provincial ban on bulk exports, but any province could break it any time, and would it not withstand a NAFTA challenge. In recent years, British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and Newfoundland have all considered licensing schemes for bulk water exports.

5. The Security and Prosperity Partnership means water is on the table. The SPP was agreed to in 2005 by the leaders of Canada, the U.S. and Mexico with no debate by Parliament or the public. In March 2006, a major Washington-based think tank funded by the U.S. government launched the North American Future 2025 Project, “to help guide the ongoing Security and Prosperity Partnership,” according the Ottawa Citizen. Leaked documents obtained by the Council of Canadians indicate that bulk water exports have been a subject of discussion among corporate leaders and government officials at the Project’s behind-closed door meetings.

For more information about bulk water exports, visit: www.canadians.org/water/issues/policy/exports.html.

For more information about the impact of global warming on water resources, go to: www.davidsuzuki.org/Climate_Change/Impacts/water.asp.