Banning Bulk Water Exports: Bill S-217, An Act to Amend the International Boundary Waters Treaty Act
In June of 2007, I tabled Bill S-225, An Act to amend the International Boundary Waters Treaty Act (bulk water removal),
to restrict the government’s authority to approve exports of bulk water without Parliamentary approval. After Parliament
was prorogued and this bill died in September 2007, I re-introduced the bill as S-217.
This private member’s bill will close a loophole in present legislation which permits a minister to license exports of
bulk water through the regulatory process, without the involvement of MPs, Senators or the general public.
The current legislation governing bulk water removal from Canada is Bill C-6, An Act to amend the International Boundary
Waters Treaty Act, which received royal assent in December 2001. As the Conservative critic on Bill C-6 in 2001, I was the
first parliamentarian to point out that the legislation, aimed at prohibiting the export of bulk water, actually licenses such
exports. This judgment was subsequently supported by committee witnesses and the Privy Council Office.
When I served as the Minister Responsible for the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement in 1986, I monitored water issues very closely.
Bulk water was not included in the original agreement. However, if bulk water is exported and becomes a tradable commodity, water
could come within the jurisdiction of NAFTA. Canada would then be obligated to provide Americans and Mexicans with the same access
Canadians enjoy to our fresh-water resources.
Bill S-217 will prohibit the bulk removal of boundary waters from water basins shared by Canada and the United States. It will
remove the existing regulation-making authority that is granted to the minister to approve bulk water exports beyond limited
exceptions, such as fire fighting or water used in a vessel, aircraft or train. All other exceptions to the prohibition on bulk
water exports would require the approval of the House of Commons and the Senate.
To read my speech of June 12, 2007, on Bill S-225, please click
here.
Follow this link
to read the legislation: Bill S-217, An Act to amend the International Boundary
Waters Treaty Act (bulk water removal)