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B
A C
AFB2018
Alternative Federal
Budget 2018Water
ALTERNATIVE
FEDERAL BUDGET WATER
2018
¢ There were 167 drinking water advisories in First ¢ Adequately fund water and wastewater
SITUATION
DESTINATION
Nations in 2017. infrastructure in municipalities and First Nations.
¢ 99% of lakes and rivers in Canada are still not ¢ Fund robust environmental assessments and
protected by the Navigation Protection Act. strong water science and research.
¢ The proposed Kinder Morgan pipeline alone puts ¢ Safeguard the Great Lakes, groundwater and
1,355 waterways at risk. other freshwater sources.
¢ 197 billion litres of raw sewage was flushed into ¢ Exclude water as a tradeable good, service or
waterways in Canada in 2016. investment in Canada’s trade and investment
¢ Canada’s trade and investment agreements do not agreements.
adequately protect water policy from costly
investor-state disputes.
POLICYALTERNATIVES.CA/AFB2018 #AFB2018
Background action, ensure affordable water services for
everyone, and create accountability mech-
Canada needs to put water protection and
anisms and legal remedies.
water justice at the heart of all policies and
The Canadian government recognized
practices affecting water sources and servi-
the human rights to water and sanitation
ces. The government could take a step in that
at the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable
direction by recognizing water as a human
Development, but it has yet to take action
right, a shared commons and a public trust.
to make these rights meaningful. The fail-
Beginning in 2010, the United Nations
ure of the Trudeau government to take these
passed several resolutions recognizing the
rights seriously, as the Liberals promised
human rights to water and sanitation. These
in the 2015 election campaign, will impact
intentions were asserted again in the 2015
the availability and access to clean water
Sustainable Development Goals. The UN
for generations to come.
Human Rights Council has called on gov-
ernments to develop comprehensive plans
and strategies for water management, as-
sess the implementation of these plans of
142 Canadian Centre for Policy AlternativesDrinking water in Indigenous assets is $575 billion, according to the same
communities report. The Federation of Canadian Munici-
palities (FCM) estimates the cost of replacing
Prime Minister Trudeau promised during the
systems graded “poor” or “very poor” to be
2015 election campaign to end boil water ad-
about $61 billion.4
visories in First Nations within five years of
The Liberal government committed $2
forming a Liberal government. There were
billion over four years to a new Clean Water
167 drinking water advisories in 98 First
and Wastewater Fund. However, there are
Nations in fall 2017,1 and there are routine-
concerns this money will lead to the priva-
ly more than 100 water advisories in effect
tization of public water assets in the same
at any given time, with some communities
way the new Canada Infrastructure Bank
having lived under advisories for nearly
will prioritize funding for income-gener-
20 years.2
ating projects (e.g., public-private partner-
A 2017 report by the David Suzuki Foun-
ships). Canada needs a long-term plan to
dation and the Council of Canadians found
adequately fund public or community-run
that the federal government will not meet
water and wastewater infrastructure that is
its commitment to end all drinking water
more accountable and cost-effective than
advisories without increasing funding and
the private alternatives.
making significant changes to current pro-
Over 197 billion litres of raw sewage was
cesses. In 2011, a government study estimat-
flushed into waterways in Canada in 2016.5
ed that $889 million is needed annually for
The federal government has introduced
First Nations water and wastewater facili-
stricter wastewater standards, but again
ties, which includes projected operating and
these did not come with adequate funds for
maintenance costs. In 2017, the Parliament-
municipalities. The FCM calculates that the
ary Budget Officer reported that the Trudeau
regulations will cost at least $20 billion for
government allocated, at most, 70% of the
plant upgrades alone. The federal govern-
funding needed to end water advisories.
ment should be working with provincial
governments to harmonize reporting re-
Public water and wastewater quirements, with the goal of reducing the
infrastructure cost of administering regulations.
According to the 2016 Canadian Infrastruc-
ture Report Card, one third of Canada’s mu- Water protection legislation
nicipal infrastructure is at risk of rapid de-
During the 2015 election campaign, the
terioration, 36% of wastewater infrastructure
Liberal Party committed to restoring and
is rated at fair to poor condition and 29%
improving water protections gutted by the
of drinking water infrastructure is in fair to
former Conservative government from the
very poor condition.3 The total replacement
Canadian Environmental Assessment Act,
value of water, wastewater and stormwater
the Fisheries Act and the Navigation Pro-
Getting There: Alternative Federal Budget 2018 143tection Act (NPA). Between 2016 and 2017, the cancellation of several liquefied fracked
these laws were reviewed by parliament- gas (LFG) plants, including Petronas’ Pacif-
ary standing committees and expert pan- ic Northwest facility, there are still propos-
els, which also gathered public input. The als to build LFG plants and run supertank-
government is expected to table its proposed ers along B.C.’s coast.
regulatory amendments by spring 2018, but The Kinder Morgan pipeline would
they will likely leave 99% of lakes and riv- cross 1,355 waterways, and Line 3 runs from
ers unprotected under the NPA. Hardisty, Alberta to the shores of Lake Su-
perior in the Great Lakes Basin. The Lib-
eral government approved both pipelines
Impacts of extreme energy projects
without Transport Canada assessing their
Creating one million climate jobs and en- impacts on navigable waterways, since the
suring a just transition for workers cur- current NPA exempts pipelines. These pipe-
rently employed in the extractive sectors lines would transport tar sands bitumen or
would not only protect waterways but also fracked oil, exacerbating climate change and
grow Canada’s economy in sustainable ways putting water, food and public health at risk.
for future generations (see Just Transition Despite promising to protect freshwater
chapter). Instead, this government plans to and oceans, the Liberal government has ap-
pursue many extreme energy projects and proved other extreme energy projects like the
environmentally destructive policies fa- Site C dam and the NOVA fracked gas pipe-
voured by the Harper government. line (owned by TransCanada), signalling lit-
Extreme energy projects require more tle change from the previous government’s
water, energy and effort to realize, and are extractivist policies. In December 2017, the
more destructive to watersheds, the environ- B.C. government approved the Site C dam
ment and surrounding communities than proposal despite the impact it will have on
conventional energy development. The ex-
6
the Peace River Valley, Indigenous rights
traction of extreme energy, such as fracked and farmland.
gas and tar sands oil, and their transporta- There is a significant lack of independ-
tion via pipeline, rail and ships, leaves mu- ent scientific data on the consequences of
nicipalities and Indigenous communities diluted bitumen spills in water, including
vulnerable to potentially high clean-up and how the oil reacts in waterways and the
health care costs. challenges involved in cleaning it up. The
For fracking, these costs include drink- government’s moratorium on tankers on
ing water contamination, poor air quality, the northern coast of B.C must include LFG
earthquakes, health risks and increased tankers to protect communities and marine
greenhouse gas emissions. Atlantic prov- ecosystems.
inces have placed moratoria on fracking,
but governments in Western Canada con-
tinue to endorse the risky practice. Despite
144 Canadian Centre for Policy AlternativesWater withdrawals ing investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS)
and trade agreements provisions in deals like NAFTA or Canada’s
foreign investment protection agreements
It is a myth that Canada has near infinite
(FIPAs) would make it much harder for for-
supplies of freshwater. Droughts, climate
eign corporations to use trade treaties to
change and over-extraction continue to im-
sue governments for laws or policies that
pact what are actually limited water sources.
protect water.
Each year, Canada exports 59.9 Bm3 of vir-
For example, Lone Pine Resources is
tual water (the amount of water used to pro-
suing Canada for US$119 million under the
duce or process a good or a service). Can-
investor-state dispute process in NAFTA in
ada is the second highest net virtual water
response to Quebec’s moratorium on frac-
exporter in the world.8
king in the St. Lawrence River — a decision
Bottled water companies such as Nestlé
made, in part, to protect water. In 2011, Can-
directly withdraw from freshwater supplies,
ada settled another NAFTA dispute from Abi-
including groundwater aquifers, which are
tibiBowater (now Resolute Forest Products)
the main drinking water source for one-third
in which the company a claimed proprietary
of Canadian communities. A 2015 study
right to the water used at its former paper
published in Nature Geoscience found that
mill in Newfoundland and Labrador — a right
only 6% of groundwater around the world
that does not exist under the law.
is renewable.9 Droughts and flooding have
By excluding water from trade agree-
financial impacts on farmers and local in-
ments, and eliminating this lopsided in-
dustries and provide strong incentive to pro-
vestment protection system (see the Inter-
tect local watersheds.
national Trade and Investment chapter),
Water is defined as a “tradeable good,”
the government could avert threats to water
“service” and “investment” in trade agree-
sources in Canada and avoid costly trade
ments. As such, trade agreements can dra-
challenges. The government must also pro-
matically limit a government’s ability to pro-
tect the rights of municipalities, provinces
hibit or regulate the transfer or sale of water
and territories to regulate water takings and
across borders. The federal government
create new public monopolies for the deliv-
must ban all bulk water and bottled water
ery of water services and sanitation, with-
exports, as these projects are tremendously
out having to worry about trade and invest-
costly, require vast amounts of energy and
ment challenges.10
pose serious threats to watersheds.
Removing water as a “service” would
help protect water as an essential public
good. When services are provided by pri-
vate corporations, these provisions limit the
involvement of the public sector. Remov-
ing water as an “investment” and exclud-
Getting There: Alternative Federal Budget 2018 145AFB Actions Action: Ensure the safety and sustainabil-
ity of freshwater in Canada.
Action: Strengthen public and community
water and wastewater infrastructure. • Implement a comprehensive action plan
to protect the Great Lakes (cost: $500
• Strengthen the Clean Water and Waste-
million in year one and $950 million a
water Fund with a requirement that it be
year in each of the following four years).
used to improve public or community-
run water and wastewater infrastructure • Establish water quality and quantity
(cost: $6.5 billion a year for six years, $2.5 monitoring frameworks; increase the
billion a year in year seven and beyond). number of monitoring stations, train
staff in water monitoring, and create a
• Implement the Wastewater Systems Ef-
new water ministry to co-ordinate the
fluent Regulation (cost: $1 billion a year
more than 20 departments that set fed-
over 12 years).
eral policies affecting water (cost: $327.5
• Commit $100 million annually for water million over three years).
infrastructure in small municipalities.
• Commit $3 million toward a groundwater
• Commit $75 million annually for ongoing protection plan and $1 million to com-
water operator training, public sector plete a review of virtual water exports
certification and conservation programs. from Canada.
Action: Support and fund environmental
impact assessments.
Notes
• Conduct assessments of all energy and 1 Health Canada. “Drinking Water and Wastewater.”
mining projects in consultation with af- Ottawa. Online at http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fniah-spnia/
promotion/public-publique/water-eau-eng.php#adv;
fected communities, and seek the free,
First Nations Health Authority. “Drinking Water Advis-
prior and informed consent of Indigen- ories.” Online at http://www.fnha.ca/what-we-do/ en-
ous communities in the process (cost: vironmental-health.
$50 million annually for three years). 2 Health Canada. “First Nations and Inuit Health: Drink-
ing Water and Waste Water.” Online at http://www.hc-
• Conduct an in-depth, independent study sc.gc.ca/fniah-spnia/promotion/publicpublique/water-
of the effects of tar sands development eau-eng.php#s2d.
on the environment and health (cost: $30 3 Informing the Future: 2016 Canadian Infrastructure
Report Card. Canadian Infrastructure. http://www. can-
million annually for two years).
adainfrastructure.ca/en/index.html.
• Reinstate federal funding for water pro- 4 Ibid.
grams at the departments of Environment 5 Elizabeth Thompson. “Billions of litres of raw sew-
and Climate Change Canada, Fisheries age, untreated waste water pouring into Canadian water-
ways,” CBC, December 12, 2016; 2016 statistic from email
and Oceans Canada and Transport Can-
from Wastewater Program, Environment and Climate
ada (cost: $60 million for three years). Change Canada. November 7, 2017.
146 Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives6 Informing the Future: 2016 Canadian Infrastructure 9 Emily Chung. “Most groundwater is effectively a
Report Card. nonrenewable resource, study finds.” CBC News, Nov-
ember 15, 2015.
7 Carol Linnitt. “Why is Trudeau Backtracking On B.C.’s
Oil Tanker Ban? These 86 Meetings with Enbridge Might 10 Scott Sinclair. (2015). “NAFTA Chapter 11 Investor-
Help Explain.” DeSmog Canada, October 20, 2016. State Disputes to January 1, 2015.” Canadian Centre for
Policy Alternatives.
8 Nabeela Rahman, Maude Barlow, and Meera Karunan-
anthan. (2011). “Leaky Exports: A Portrait of the Virtual
Water Trade in Canada.” Ottawa: Council of Canadians.
Getting There: Alternative Federal Budget 2018 147B A C
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