- QUEsrrONs WATERREADTNoS Exportof BulkWoter Preventingthe I. Whot is the globolpictureon woterlike? the bulkexport 2. fn your ownwords,what arelhe reosonsfor preventing of water?(5 points) Ottowomustoct to protect our Water qvoidnoming bulkwoterqs q Good? 3. Why mustConqdiqns Shoringondwhyis it importont? 4. Whot is Proportionol Plonto sellLokeSuperiorwaterrevived to do with the woter? 5. Whot wosNova6roupplonning agoinstthe Ministry e the cloimsthot the NovoGroupis moking 6. Summoriz of the Environment. hoveaboutthe Novo 7. Describesomeof the f eorsthot environmentolists allowedto tokewater. Groupbeing ProtectConodo's water if they wereto sellbulkwoterZ B. Whot orethebenefitsto Newfoundlond 9. Why doesthis concernthe rest of Conodo? 10.Whot ore someof the imooctsof the removolof bulkwoter? TheGreatLakes Preventing theexportof bulkwater By REGGrLsenr mately no tirreat to the lakes. Tiny public hearings around the Great Nova had no tankers or even custom-. l-akes. The Aprii, i998 headline seemed ers. The media made monthJong These are some of the reasonsthe irrnocuous: Firnr will sell water to headlinesof the permit, both federa] governments should prevent bulk exAsia. governments protested it, and Ontar- port of Great l-akeswater: It was just a story about a standard io quickly cancelled it. lContemporary export schemesare government permit. The province of The real danger comes from the the "tip of the iceberg." The-world Ontario was allowine the small Nova multi-national French, Engiish, and market for clean, fresh water is aIGroup to ri.ll some ta-nkerswith lake U.S. water companies with fleets of ready iarge and promises to grow exSuperior water for shipment to the tankers, interests in pipeline compa- ponentially. Once established,buik Far East. nies, and scores of contracts for mu- lrade in Great la.kes water would asBut the issue alarmed both envi- nicipal water services. These eco- sume its own economic and political ronmenta-listsand the general public. nomic powerhouses are creating the momenfum, eventually affecting lake Follow-up stories continued for global water market. They are able to water levels and quality. weeks. We're startins to sell the make the local economic bargains, lWoter removals are environmenGreat l-akes to a thirsry-world? and political campaign donations, tally harmful Natural flows of water There is little doubt about the im- neededto get accessto the ciean wa- through the Great lakes support fuh 'portance of water. The United Na- terthey desire. ald wildlife in numerous, barely untions estimates that 54 countries are Will one of their sources of water derstoodways. Changingtheseilows already facing water shortagesso se- eventualiy be the Great lakes? will harm regional ecosystems. AII vere that they threaten food security Not if the Great lakes public acts world communities must learn to live for their people.A lack of water to ir- quickly and decisively. responsibly within the Iimits of their rigate farm land may force China to The Canadian and United States watersheds.Far rrom export water. import more gra-in by 2050 than is federal governments have dragged we in the Great lakes should better currently avaiiable for export in the their feet for more than a decade in conserveou-r'waterresources. ' ., 'water ,: entire world. the face of citizen calls for strong, I Bulk export wiII not c:redte The growing global economy Iong-term protection of Great I-akes jobs.As demonstratedby todays logshou.ld give Great Lakes residents, waters. :. .,r . ..-r. grng and mining bperations, modern comfortable in our water abundance, However,stungbylast spring's un- resource extracrion can be carried causefor concern. Our lakes conta-in expected outcry over the Nova per- out by just a few employees operat95 per cent of North America's fresh mit, the goverrrmentsseem serious ing big equipment. Bulk water export water, and fully a fifth of the fresh about doing somethingnow. , will provide liftle economic benefit water on the planet. I-ast month they asked the U.S.- for Basin communities while ulti' If "water will be the oil of the 21st. Canada lnternational Joint Commis- mately threatening ,the viability of Century,'r.* standard economic sion (UQ to quickly study the issue high-emplo)rment recreatiorl ; tourana-lysisclaims, tien our region's- of bulk water export and deliver rec- ism and other indusfies that reouire most precious resource will be in ommendations for action within six , nahyal water levels and good water opet domrnrl montbs. The UC wants public input qUalrry. I j ,: T ast yeais export scheme was ulti- ..into this study, so it is holding eight ,;Bulla water export will no? stgnriicantJy benefit water-starved coun.fies. Even large-scale water export cart not possibly satisfy the social and - economic needs of distant societies. Instead, exported water will al.lownationai ettes to assure the qualitv of :: their drinking water supplies *:hile ignoring local water pollution and the waste of their national warer man.-agementsystems.. -J, :lThe Great Lo.kesshould set a con' seruatton standard for the'world. Il we wish to frsert tnit slobal commu'.nities must live wirhi the limits of .. their watersheds, we should set the .. example by creating the finest water\ ..,shedprotectionregimeonearth.. .. SfAR FILE+iOTO %"o"$b St=rc u 2 q 'qq \ Ottawamust actto protectour water Bv MauoEB,lnlow The recent revelation that several have applied to export businesses .1 Canadian water has rekindled a debate that started five years ago as to whether NAFTA puts our freshwater supplies at risk The Nova Group of Sault Ste. Ma' rie has received a five-year Permit ifrom the Ontario government to I draw up to 10 million litres of water a i day from t:ke Superior for export to Asia and the McCurdv Group of ,tCompaniesof Gander has app[6d to ..export about 52 billion litres of water j a yearfrom Gisbourne Lake in southj ern Neq'foundland. I fn" government of Newfoundland ! has given the project the good houseI keeping sea.lof approval, citing badly i needed jobs. Atl that remairs is art j environmenta-l review.Unless federal I government action is taken very f . soon, it is almost certajn that Canada witt Ue exporting water vrithin the { 1 year. for concern. -i There lhere rs is grave srave cause lor ,t i Chapter 3 of NAFTA establishesobligations regarding the trade in goods. It uses the GATT definition of a "good" which clearly lists, "waters, inciuding natural or artificial waters and aerated waters" and adds in an explanatory note that "ordinary natural water of all kinds (other than sea water)" is included. When the dea-lwas behg negotiated, NAFTA opponents pointed this out and asked the government to specifically exempt the trade in water from the deal. The government argued that under Canadian domestic law, NAFTA does not apply to the trade inwater. This is correct. But do mestic law does not bind NAFTA panels. ln fact, the U.S. spelled out its clear position at the time. Mickey Kantor, then U.S. Trade Representa'lvhen water is traded as a tive, said of the agreement provisions all good, governingtrade in goods apply." "Thus," explains respected trade lawyer, Barry fupleton, "in the American view, NAFTA's obligations on water will commence whenever water is t-aded as a good. This view appea$ to be an accurate reading of the terms of NAFTA When water is not traded as a good, it would not be subject to the terms of NAFTA chap'While water is covered as a ter 3. good, the NAFTA trade obligations will not apply until water is traded." in other words, the question is moot until some government in Can- ' ada grants a permit to export water. What happens then is that the "National Treatment" provision of NA-FTA kicks in. This provision provides for "non-discrimination" in the commercial use of ow water to irvestors in all NAFTA partner countries- Private American and Mexican companies wor:ld then have the same right of establishment to the commercial use of Canadian waters as Canadians. If Canadian companies export our water, American transnationals could help themselves to as much as they iike. Now, here's the kicker: If the federal government bans the export of Canadian water, as it is being urged to do (in fact, the Ontario company has offered to withdraw its request if t}te government will introduce this law), bv that very act it names water as a Presidnt & ChieJEzeutiue OJJica: DAyrDA. G,u,rou'rv I I D.rtrn ,l. G,rtlol.rt trI.*nr P. Co\-\TLL C.{-rpsEu,R. E{Rlrr Ltd., is TorontoStarNewspapers a wholll'ownedsubsidianof Tontar Corp. DtrecLfrs: Josx R. Er',lr.-s,Chainan CATSERT]-E ATKr\sor l\IUrnr v Peur G. S. Cr-rron Enl'eru L. Dosrc,rx commercial t-adeabie commodity, triggering NAFTA American "investors" would be. grarted NAFTA :-' rights in the very law that excludes them, and under chapter I I - the provision that gives companies the right to sue governments for lost future profit - they could claim for financial compensation. This is because there was no such ban when NAFTAwas signed. Any new iaw any government introduces under chapter l1 is lutnerable to challenge.Similar compensation would not be ava.i-lable to Canadian investors. Under NAFTA the only way the Canadian government could protect water would be to invoke the GATT exceptions provided for natural resources but that would be subject to the NAFTA "proportionai sharing" clause whereby Canada would have obligations to continue to suppiy water to NAFTApartners. The minister responsible, uoyd Axworthy, who fought NAFTA with passion and expertise, imows all this. To buy himselJsometime, he sent tle ",o 3#HHffi,fi:::';T"r;? Iegal jurisdiction, for a recommenda' tion for action. But the eagerness of the government of Newfoundland to commercialize and export its water has changedthe whole situation. The federal government must act now to protect Caaadian water. But it cannot do so while still under NAFTA obligation.What is more important to Caaada- these trade obiigations,or ourwater? MoudeBarlow is the nofionalchair of the Co uncil of Canodions. Drrrn \\'.LlrJosr A. Hosnrnrur Rr-ruAxrt I\'rr-run L-r-rctPnturs NprsosS.Tmu I =l ..i I \-, Iiiiigsit i; iigiis iggi !:gi€ iffegErisrEF;Ei ;c:i:*E!:Eti:# rl ei!;: EiFi;iA*FigEiiEsi;iF F" -? i;ii,;;e;a; c'IiEetll ajeg**€qiii E=, rtF:tsr ' ;€;;e}Fiq5=Eit6-iil; I Et, \l j t.: Lt:jr:ir!. :,riar Eieii:; lg+ I trffElEi l I {.i:illrL: :i+il'i. rl-it'{:.' iEiiliff lei E;ii*ir ser;E:#E irg:i;ii+ff* [ lr!:n;," '. l:lr'. I iti;;:, 'Eulsg I: :sa;[ II ];5'ti + N. E eEiEE' EE!t:ifi lifi.;' i,sEEiisiI IffErigHEEgf I .,-' = z '-jt-;.;:ittt-.ut **.g*+EE , c:= aE ;rs'' =f*;#,,'g'irf' E!€.?=fci€€:EtiiE=' EEFAgEeeEti; #E,f,Ei -.-- . gevelopers wouldbeconstnr.ti"gui_ fordable apartments. Butthey're not.Theymaynever, as longastheprovincialandflderal gov. ernments sitonthesidelines, refuJing to help. Thecitydesewes creditfor attemptingto craftasolutionusingits own limitedfinancialresources-and the goodwilofthecommunity. .]he ryojeqfacesanumberof significanthurdlesThefirstisfindingasite. Ofthe17 Iocationslookedatio far,mostre_ b-iladroAsG= hend why Chi government." The Varsitv Ietters to the"e anti-Beijingprr any other issi were writr^. ments,we'il need30homeiesssnef_ ters insteadof two,"housing conmissioner Keith Ward said. It's not hard to understandthe roots of theproblem-sinceigg5,onlyZg rental quits havebeenbuilt in peel and240acrossGreaterToronto. Likewise,it's not hard to under_ standthat 20 hornesis a drop in the bucket. Building affordablehousingin To ronto, Peelandthe province'sother urban cenbeswill requirethefinan_ cial assistanceof seniorpoliticians. If on$ thry would wakeup to the crisis unfolding aroundthem. identifuin All of-thi names. ProtectCanada'swater When Newfoundlandpremier Rog. _There'severyreasonto put theleg_ took atsparklingCisbo;e islative brakeson potentialbulk salis. :.91 :. r^aKelntneeasternpart of his prov_ Underthe NorthAmericanFree ince,heseesliquidgold. TradeAgreement,oncea province Thenewpremierwantsto suckout like Newfoundlande4portswaterin billionsof gallonsayear,andsellthe bulk, watermaybe deemeda badewater in bulk via ocean_going tanker ablegoodunderNAFIA. shipsto thirsty Americans,Mexicans In future, Ottawamight not be able andothers. to preventprivatecompanies from Grimesbelieves,rightlyorno! that trading in bulk water,without facing , ne cangenerate$70million a yearrev_ legal challengesandstiff costs. enue,enoughto seni Newfo,rnOrrrA_ New DemocratMp Bill Blaikie says ersto collegeandunivenityforfree. we should all beworried aboutthat And he haspretymuchtold the rest prospect,andhe'sright. of the country to mind its own Prime Minister JeanChr6tien'sgov. business. ernmentmust tacklethis challenge But this schemeis verymuch our head-on.We needstronglegislati-on business. banning bulk sales,of anysort. By pullingtheplug on Gisborne,the ln the meantime,more-thana few premierwouldopena fl oodgate,and Newfoundlandersareobjectingto shattera Canadiannationalionsen_ Grimes'short-sighted scheme.-It was susthat water is avital resourcethat consideredby formerpremierBrian we shouldcarefullyhusband. Tobin in 1999,andrejectedfor all . Rightnow,Canadaexportsonly thesereasons. iimited quantitiesof bottiedwat"i. Not Hard thoughit maybeto imagine . inbulk. thatwateris a scarceresource,we still It-wastheprovincesthemselves, in_ can't takeit for granted. . cluding Newfoundland,ttrai Uanned Waterlevelsevenin thevastGreat suchsales. lakes fluctuatemarkedlyfromseason Now0ttawa proposesto prohibit to season. . bulksalesof waterfrommorethan Natural climacticvariationaffects 300bodiessbaddlingthe Canada_U.S. water levels.Sodoesindustrv-indu_ border. cedclimacticchanges. And evenblike Thatincludes theGreatlakes. ElNino. whichaccountfor20 percentofthe Earth'sfreshzurface water. Untilnowithasbeenaszumed that Ottawaandtheprovinces wouldmake commoncauseonnationalregula_ tionsto banthesaleof bulkwiter fromothersources fartherafieldfrom theborder. \ ': ThatledtheCanada-U.S.Interna_ tionalJointCommission toissuethis warningtwoyearsago:"Considerable cautionshouldbq.exercised withrespectto anyotherfactonpotentially placingdownward pressures onwaier levelsandoudlows.n Bulksales qualify. lould e aut For me, reac shocking rerni Canada's hum based in Euror $"ul}y the por turoPean exp( alien that basis Canadians whc have no culfun rary, parliame dawnof the Uni At the same t were bleeding civic heart of lc the rhythm of a ter, Higher, Str fever had begun urDan commun for a spectacular itingGames offic The press ge Olympic 'bid br tween hero and Goodvs. Beijing slur against Beiji rounds thatweek Chinesecapital -C' q choice for its governmr r of human riehts that so concimec tors who followed r\ 5ea Mayor Paul Scl clude the influenr amination of Ma But there is one r the charge Scheli forces - review of sionsmadeby Sea Race is alwavs a raisine the soectr, black--on-whiievic ly sensitive.Schel away from it. The of such an examin condemnation of I €lssome in the blac but irsight into w societymay have d Three panels wi and safety, riots in Square the nieht ot er citywide evEnts. TomntoStrr Newspa a rvhollyorvnedsubsir Torstar Corp. I