As reported in today's Globe and Mail, "A Quebec think-tank with a blue-chip business board of directors has waded into one of the most controversial issues in Canadian politics by coming out in favour of bulk water exports. 'Large-scale exports of fresh water would be a wealth-creating idea for Quebec and for Canada as a whole,' the Montreal Economic Institute said Wednesday. 'It is urgent to look seriously at developing our blue gold.' Indeed, Quebec could generate $65-billion a year in gross revenue, if it were to export 10 per cent of the 1 trillion cubic metres of 'renewable fresh water' available to it each year, according to an MEI research paper, which was prepared by Marcel Boyer, the organization's chief economist and vice-president. That's based on a price equal to 65 cents a cubic metre that it currently costs to desalinate sea water, which, the paper said, will ultimately determine the commercial value of fresh water and profitability of the spending on infrastructure that would be required. Even if the province were to charge a royalty of just 10 per cent on such exports, this would bring it $6.5-billion a year in income, the paper said, about five times the dividend currently paid by Hydro-Québec."

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080827.wwater0827/EmailBNStory/Business/home

The Montreal Economic Institute's media release on this report states, "The quantity of water we could export without endangering the environment would be enough to fill nearly 300,000 Olympic Stadiums a year. According to the Department of Environment, if Quebec alone were to provide the world’s entire production of bottled water, 154 billion litres in 2004, this would represent 1% of the precipitation that recharges groundwater in Quebec’s inhabited areas. Meanwhile, 97% of the natural recharge in inhabited areas goes unused, flowing into rivers and then into the ocean."

http://www.iedm.org/main/show_mediareleases_en.php?mediareleases_id=179

The 32-page 'Freshwater exports for the development of Quebec’s blue gold', now posted to the MEI website, also dismisses NAFTA concerns by stating, "...were bulk exports of Canadian fresh water to start up, the United States would see itself to some extent as owners of a right over Canadian water resources. The volumes exported could be reduced only if water were rationed proportionately or similarly for Canadian businesses and consumers. Moreover, the export price could be reduced or raised only if the domestic price changed similarly. It is true that NAFTA could create new constraints and impose them on us if fresh water were to be sold commercially. But such constraints would be likely to push the trade partners into developing and adopting water management models that are more efficient and thus socially more acceptable." (p.18)

http://www.iedm.org/uploaded/pdf/cahier0808_en.pdf

You may remember that on March 10 the National Post reported that, "Delegates (at the Quebec Liberal Party convention this weekend) passed motions favouring more export sales of water, arguing that water is a renewable resource. Francois Beaudry, president of the party's youth wing, touting the commercial prospects of selling water, called it Quebec's 'blue gold.' But Madeleine Cantin-Cumyn, a retired McGill University law professor, cautioned delegates that drinkable water regenerates very slowly. Charest said the government intends to introduce legislation in the new sitting of the Quebec legislature, which opens Tuesday, to protect Quebec's water resources." That National Post article is at
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/politics/story.html?id=0c1133f7-d8b6-4ad5-97e2-5dd0871f73a7&k=30054.

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.”

A few things to keep in mind:

WATER SCARCITY IN CANADA

As reported by the Canadian Press (in the Globe and Mail, Le Devoir, the Toronto Sun and other newspapers) on August 21, "Canada's supplies of fresh water are not as plentiful as once thought, and water shortages threaten to pit provinces (and Canada and the United States) against each other, a newly released document says." The document is a 21-page internal report drafted by Environment Canada in December 2007 titled 'A Federal Perspective on Water Quantity Issues', which was obtained by the Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act. The Environment Canada report says, "Canada lacks sound information at a national scale on the major use and user(s) of water...National forecasting of water availability has never been done because traditionally our use of water was thought to be unlimited." The Canadian Press notes that, "the report forecasts droughts in the Prairies and groundwater shortages in British Columbia and the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River basin."

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080821.WATER21//TPStory/National

On March 6, CBC-TV's The National reported that, "a yet-to-be released federal report...prepared by more than 100 Canadian scientists on behalf of Canada's Department of Natural Resources...(that focuses) on the impact climate change will have on the country...(says) water levels in Alberta and British Columbia are already dropping dramatically, as are the levels of the Great Lakes. The result could be a shortage of drinking water, the report says. It also warns that industries that rely on water - oil, gas, hydro-electricity, agriculture, even salmon farming - will also suffer..."

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/03/06/climate-study.html

NAFTA IMPLICATIONS

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. Also, as reported by the Ottawa Citizen on June 1, 2007, "A motion to open NAFTA talks to make sure bulk-water exports are excluded from the deal sparked an acrimonious three-hour debate in the House yesterday, with all three Opposition parties lined up against the Tories...Submitted by the Standing Committee on International Trade, the motion calls for a formal letter of agreement with the U.S. and Mexico to make sure bulk water will never be defined as a good or service under NAFTA. If it were, the panel says, NAFTA rules against government interference could allow firms to sue the provincial or federal governments if they try to bar them from shipping water across the border." That motion was adopted by the House of Commons on June 6 in a vote of 134 to 108, with all Conservatives voting against the motion.

QUESTIONABLE ECONOMIC BENEFITS

In ‘On the Table: Water, Energy and North American Integration’, Andrew Nikiforuk writes, “Given the current volume of Canada’s virtual water exports (272.5 x 109 m3), exports of real water can only adversely affect the economy. University of Western Ontario engineer, Slobodan Simonovic calculated that ‘water export’ from the St. Lawrence River Basin, for example, would reduce ‘the available water for consumption by different water use sectors.’ Exporting water simply means less water at home to create jobs and less water to sustain ecological services provided by rivers and lakes necessary for life.” Nikiforuk also writes, “The issue of royalties or public rent from water sales also demands attention. A 2005 analysis by the federal government concluded that Canada wouldn’t get rich trading water. Because of the high cost of transporting bulk water by supertanker, water royalties would “have to be small”. The number of jobs created would be minimal and would be largely confined to the maintenance of ships or pipelines. Water, in other words, could become another cheap raw resource give-away much like oil.”

http://www.powi.ca/pdfs/events/powi20070910_9am_On_the_Table.pdf

Additionally, to read our fact sheet ‘Five reasons to oppose bulk water exports’, please go to;

http://www.canadians.org/water/issues/policy/exports_factsheet.html.

You may also want to read Chapter 6 of Maude Barlow’s Blue Covenant (pages 177-208).

Our national water campaigner Meera Karunananthan has just done an interview with the Globe and Mail and we’ll be updating you on this issue.