Editors note: The following is a response to the Montreal Think Tanks proposal from the Council of Canadian;

Please see some of the media we garnered in response to the Montreal Economic Institute's paper which supports the idea of bulk water exports from Quebec.

THE GLOBE AND MAIL

The Ottawa-based Council of Canadians, headed by Maude Barlow, has campaigned vigorously against what it calls the commoditization and commercialization of fresh water. The council's national water campaigner, Meera Karunananthan, took issue with the MEI's research paper. "I think it's absurd to suggest that you can potentially export such large quantities of water ... out of Quebec for that not to have an environmental impact," she said in a telephone interview.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080828.RWATER28/TPStory/Business

TORONTO STAR

But the Council of Canadians is adamantly opposed to the practice of selling the nation's water. "We're concerned about that. We know there's pressure from the U.S. to export Canada's water. But we see water as a human right and a public resource," said Meera Karunananthan, the council's national water campaigner. "We don't want to see water commodified and commercialized in this manner," she said, noting it's a myth that Canada has abundant supplies of water. "They see it as an economic opportunity, and clearly the motivation here is profit," added Karunananthan.

http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/486760

OTTAWA CITIZEN/ VANCOUVER SUN

The Council of Canadians in Ottawa, the Société pour vaincre la pollution and the Fondation Rivières, headed by actor Roy Dupuis, who recently starred as general Roméo Dallaire in the film Shake Hands with the Devil, said the MEI is "disconnected" from reality and the public opposes to exports of fresh water.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/bustech/story.html?id=42470666-bb3b-4b5c-9b6b-67f38c5a493b

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/business/story.html?id=6d894240-e370-42a1-8d1c-1b4eca514ae5

TORONTO SUN/ OTTAWA SUN

"The federal government is aware that we are facing a freshwater crisis in Canada," said Meera Karunananthan, of the Council of Canadians. "Quebec is not immune to that crisis."... Economists also say the quantity of water that Canada could export each year without endangering the environment would be enough to fill nearly 300,000 Olympic stadiums. Karunananthan calls that claim "absurd." "We're very concerned, particularly if this is going to influence the position of the Quebec government," she said.

http://torontosun.com/News/Canada/2008/08/28/6595096-sun.html

http://ottsun.canoe.ca/News/National/2008/08/28/6593736-sun.html

Maude Barlow writes in ‘Blue Covenant’ on page 192 that, “In 2004, the Quebec government (of Premier Jean Charest) announced it was interested in pursuing bulk water exports from the province in spite of its 2001 ban. Public opposition forced the government to back off.” The Sun Media article adds that, “In 2004, Quebec's then environment minister (now NDP MP) Thomas Mulcair told French newspaper Le Devoir, "If I can raise billions of dollars with water, without affecting the aquatic ecosystems why ... would I deprive us of the possibility of having an important economic activity?"

It might be noted too that Maxime Bernier was a founder of the Montreal Economic Institute and served as its executive vice-president before he joined Stephen Harper’s cabinet as the minister of industry and then the minister of foreign affairs.

Let me also extend a special thank you to Montreal chapter activist Abdul Pirani who first notified us of the MEI meeting to launch this report.