Trickle Down Theory: How Canada's Water Can Save the World
Recently, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs introduced The Transboundary Waters Protection Act. The legislation, known as Bill C-26, prohibits the bulk removal of water from rivers and streams that flow across the Canada-U.S. border. The new Act supplements existing rules banning the bulk removal of water from lakes that straddle the border. Bill C-26 ostensibly has two goals: to ensure that Canadian watersheds are maintained and properly replenished so that Canada can continue to enjoy its freshwater riches; and to ensure that Canada’s water stays in Canada.
Unfortunately, the legislation places too little emphasis on the first goal and too much on the second. With a change of emphasis, Canada can not only preserve its vast freshwater resources but also command a leading role in combating and solving the pressing problem of global water scarcity.
From an environmental standpoint, Bill C-26 is welcome legislation and Canada needs more like it. As defined in the Bill, the prohibition on “bulk removal” includes the diversion of water for any reason, even domestic use. Canada’s exploitation of its rivers through diverting, damming and withdrawing water has severely threatened Canada’s major watersheds, its ecosystems and, as a result, Canada’s future water supply.
“Changing Currents”the report published this week by the National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy, provides recommendations regarding the sustainability of water resources in the face of increasing demand for and diversion of water flows. The report identifies several instances where more effective regulation and management is needed. For example, in the South Saskatchewan River (which is not covered by Bill C-26), 70% of the natural river flow is tapped to support hydropower, drinking water, and irrigation. These diversions have threatened both flora and fauna over large portions of Alberta and Saskatchewan and are the primary cause of Southern Saskatchewan’s routine and severe summer drought conditions. Other examples of potential crises across Canada at other major rivers include the McKenzie in the North, the Fraser in the West and the Saint Lawrence and Saint John in the East. The Report concludes that the key to sustaining Canada’s freshwater supply is limitations on flow diversions from rivers that feed and form Canada’s vast watersheds. Accomplishing this requires an updated, integrated and strictly enforced water management and governance regime. While Bill C-26 helps, it does not represent the drastic change in governance and management required.
Instead, Bill C-26 is mostly geared toward reassuring Canadians that the government does not intend to sell off Canada’s vital resources to the highest foreign bidder. The fact that the Minister of Foreign Affairs sponsored the Bill and not the Environment Minister was a not-so-subtle signal that the focus of the legislation is on banning water exports. To erase any doubt on the issue, Minister Cannon used the occasion of his introduction of Bill C-26 to reiterate his party’s position: “we are not in the business of exporting our water… Canadian water is not a commodity. It is not for sale.”
This position is inconsistent with Canada’s international role as a human rights stalwart and, frankly, the position is untenable. Canada, with only 0.5% of the world’s population, possesses 7% of the world’s renewable fresh water and 25% of the world’s wetlands. According to the OECD, nearly 1 billion people currently live without the proper access to fresh water. By 2030, the number will be 3 billion. The world sees Canada as being embarrassingly rich in water resources. It may be reasonable to ban the export of water for use in swimming pools and golf courses in Palm Springs. It is a different story altogether to assume that Canada can or will ignore the problem of global scarcity by refusing to export water to the world’s truly parched.
It is clear that Canada has an abundance of water. More importantly, if properly managed, Canada will have a surplus. The looming challenge of global water scarcity, which both Bill C-26 and Changing Currents ignore, must be factored into the equation of determining how to sustain and manage Canada’s water resources. It is an inescapable reality that the 21st Century world considers itself an interconnected community facing global challenges that will demand concerted and cooperative efforts to confront. The world is so committed to that mantra that President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize for doing nothing more than simply repeating it.
Pursuant to that reality, Canada, as sole steward of such a large portion of the world’s freshwater supply, should lead the concerted and cooperative effort to confront what is certainly the most critical of these global challenges. In so doing, Canada will be at the forefront of instituting new global commitments to sustainability and the adaptation of significant limits on the use of resources, commitments that will see application to all critical and finite resources.
Moreover, including provisions for exports and for addressing global shortages in Canada’s water management plan will help Canada ensure that its domestic water supply is preserved and maintained. A key factor identified in the Changing Currents Report is that Canada currently lacks the necessary human resources, technical expertise, financial resources and management systems to properly manage its water resources. The United States, on the other hand, has access to vast reservoirs of human resources, financial capital and technical expertise.
Canada should consider reaching out to the United States in working together to establish a water management framework that would, first and foremost, preserve and sustain Canada’s water resources, but that would also provide for manageable water exports. This would allow Canada to contribute water resources where and as needed around the world with Canada being the arbiter on how such water resources are to be used. In addition to establishing global conservation policies, such a partnership would include the development of technologies to further relieve the strain on freshwater supplies. These include desalination technology, salt-water farming, improved irrigation technology, and genetic engineering of drought tolerant and high yielding crops.
The returns to Canada in securing its domestic water supply and increasing its global stature are immeasurable. By taking these steps, Canada’s traditional role as the nation with an abiding and selfless commitment to global human rights will not only remain intact, it will be recast as one where such a commitment commands a leadership role on the world stage. The cost to Canada, in terms of allowing water exports, will be, most figuratively, a drop in the bucket.