Bilderberg-connected Desmarais dynasty thinktank supports exporting Canada’s water
[Ed. note - Helene Desmarais, wife of Paul Desmarais Jr., chairs the Montreal Economic Institute. Paul Desmarais Jr. was an attendee at this year's Bilderberg meeting in Virginia and heads up Power Corporation of Canada. Simon Reisman, head negotiator of NAFTA and uncle of Heather Reisman, also a Bilderberg alumnus, was director of GRANDCo, which has previously advanced ideas for large scale water export. It's a small world at the top, it seems, and these ideas have been floating around for quite some time. No wonder the Council of Canadians is so concerned.]
Lisa Wright, Toronto Star
August 27, 2008
A Montreal think tank says it’s “urgent” for Canada to dip its toe in the water exporting business for financial gain – but some folks aren’t too sure about watching our water go down the drain.
“Large-scale exports of fresh water would be a wealth-creating idea for Quebec and for Canada as a whole,” says the Montreal Economic Institute’s chief economist Marcel Boyer, author of a research paper released today.
“The development and marketing of this expertise requires a strategic plan to enable Quebec to become a leader in water management,” says Boyer, vice president of the Institute, an independent, non-profit organization that takes part in public policy debate in Quebec and across Canada.
The report proposes that the provincial and federal government set out a regulatory framework for the trade in water to make owners or concession-holders more fully aware of the benefits and costs associated with the various uses of the water under their control.
These restrictions should be accompanied by a “realistic” fee structure that would give consumers and other users incentives to use the resource responsibly and encourage the businesses involved to ensure a stable supply, the paper says.
“At a time when water is becoming scarce in many parts of the world, its economic development stirs up substantial opposition, however. Though some people fear harmful exploitation or even the drying up of our water resources, it is urgent to look seriously at developing our blue gold,” Boyer argues in the report.
Canada holds the world’s most extensive freshwater reserves, with 8 per cent of world inventory. Quebec lays claim to 3 per cent of the planet’s fresh water, giving it 13 times more renewable fresh water per person than the United States.
The report states that Quebec is using only 0.5 per cent of its available renewable fresh water compared to the nearly 19 per cent used in the U.S. The Institute goes on to state that “suitable” use of this renewable resource would not have an impact on Quebec’s water reserves.
Boyer says that if Quebec were to export 10 per cent of its one trillion cubic metres of renewable fresh water per year at a price equal to the current cost of seawater desalination (65 cents per cubic metre), and if the government took 10 per cent of this amount in royalties, it would generate income of $6.5 billion a year — five times the dividend paid by Hydro-Québec.
But the Council of Canadians is adamantly opposed to the practice of selling the nation’s water, and says it’s actually not as plentiful as people think.
“We’re concerned about that. We know there’s pressure from the U.S. to export Canada’s water. But we see water as a human right and a public resource,” said Meera Karunananthan, the Council’s national water campaigner.
“We don’t want to see water commodified and commercialized in this manner,” she said, noting it’s a myth that Canada has abundant supplies of water.
“They see it as an economic opportunity, and clearly the motivation here is profit,” added Karunananthan.
But a federal government report obtained by The Canadian Press last week revealed Canada’s supplies of fresh water are not as plentiful as once thought, and water shortages threaten to pinch the economy and pit provinces against each other.
The internal report drafted last December by Environment Canada warns that climate change and a growing population will further drain resources.
“We can no longer take our extensive water supplies for granted,” says the draft report, titled A Federal Perspective on Water Quantity Issues.
It suggests the federal government take a more hands-on role in managing the country’s water, which is now largely done by the provinces. Ottawa still manages most of the fresh water in the North through water boards.
The Conservatives promised a national water strategy in last fall’s Throne Speech but have been criticized since for announcing only piecemeal projects.
Source | See Also under Water: Water pact will deplete Great Lakes, expert fears | Beware thirsty Americans, Kennedy tells Canada | Maybe Obama was right on NAFTA | Closed-door talks focusing on our water supply | Canada’s water needs protection from thirsty America: trade lawyer
September 18th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
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December 26th, 2008 at 7:55 am
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March 13th, 2009 at 11:14 am
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March 17th, 2009 at 1:25 am
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March 19th, 2009 at 1:29 am
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March 23rd, 2009 at 7:10 am
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March 27th, 2009 at 11:07 pm
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April 16th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
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May 12th, 2009 at 10:37 am
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May 19th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
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December 21st, 2009 at 11:36 pm
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January 3rd, 2010 at 4:36 pm
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March 22nd, 2010 at 9:33 am
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June 14th, 2010 at 1:04 pm
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June 18th, 2010 at 11:28 am
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