Tony Clarke, author and Exec Dir Polaris Institute, Canada

Canada must protect its water from U.S. : report

Updated Thu. Apr. 3 2008 10:01 AM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

"The Canadian government needs a better strategy to protect the country's fresh water in the face of growing U.S. demand, says a report released Thursday by an Ottawa-based think tank.

Download the Report here. (1.1 MB)

The Polaris Institute report written by Tony Clarke, Institute Director, water activist and author of several acclaimed publications including, "Blue Gold: The Battle Against the Corporate Theft of the World's Water,"  titled, "Turning on Canada's Tap," says the Conservative government has shown little movement on developing an official policy on water exports, even though Prime Minister Stephen Harper promised one in the throne speech of 2007...

The article continues...

"Ohio's Lt.-Gov. Lee Fisher recently mused his state may eventually sell Lake Erie water to drought-stricken states, despite a compact between eight Great Lakes states and two Canadian provinces prohibiting it. He soon retracted the statement, but not without worrying environmentalists about the implications of his suggestion.

The Polaris report says U.S. President George Bush and U.S. Ambassador to Canada Paul Cellucci have both requested publicly that Canada begin making bulk water exports to the Unites States.

"It is not at all clear that either Ottawa or the provinces are in a position to deal with a challenge coming from Washington to turn on the taps," writes Clarke. "Simply put, there is a serious deficiency in terms of Canadian water policy and governance."

In addition to water as a basic human right, the report recommends the government:

• Rebuild Canada's water protection capacities
• Establish a federal ban on bulk water exports
• Remove water protection restrictions in trade regimes
• Utilize bi-national water treaty mechanisms
• Implement bold water conservation measures