And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: VIA: League of Indigenous Sovereign Nations of the Western Hemisphere Source: Dibaudjimoh on the Web http://www.bmts.com/~dibaudjimoh/page67.html NAFTA PIPELINE TO CANADIAN WATER: A BRIEFING February 1999 There are three serious attempts to take fresh water in bulk (ie. by the tanker-load) from Canada for shipment to China or to the US--one by the McCurdy Group in Newfoundland, Sun Belt (a US company) in BC, and by the Nova Group from Lake Superior. All point to the likelihood that bulk water exports are not that far away, despite the noise from the federal government lately. The Ontario government withdrew the permit to take water it had issued to the Nova Group. Nova appealed, but withdrew their appeal amidst a fire-storm of opposition from the pubic and governments on both sides of the border. However, the details of the deal--who was involved, the timing--make it look as though it was a dry run by US interests to test Canada's reaction. Sun Belt has now sued Canada under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) because BC banned the bulk export of water just as Sun Belt was getting ready to ship millions of litres south to California. Foreign companies can do this because chapter 11 (the investment chapter) of NAFTA forces Canada and the other partners to treat foreign companies "investing" here as though they were Canadian companies. It also allows companies whose profits have been "expropriated" (and in NAFTA, that term has a very broad definition) by a country to sue for damages. The cases are heard, in secret, by a Tribunal, also set up by NAFTA. One company, Ethyl Corp. from the US has already successfully sued Canada under NAFTA claiming a ban imposed by Canada on one of their products cost them money and other markets. The product was MMT, a gas additive used to replace lead, and Canada had banned it because it is a proven neuro-toxin. Canada folded during the Tribunal and agreed to pay Ethyl $20 million and issue a statement that maybe MMT wasn't so bad after all. Bottled water may be just the first trickle ... The Canadian government is saying that only water taken and bottled can be exported, and that the NAFTA doesn't kick in until someone allows bulk exports. But some trade lawyers think that it is already too late--that even bottled water exports have made water a "commodity" under the NAFTA and that bulk water exports will be allowed. Sun Belt's NAFTA action against Canada is very important. To make things even more complicated, the federal government seems to have tied its own hands in this. It signed, along with all the provinces and territories, except Quebec, a "Canada-wide Accord on Environmental Harmonization" in January, 1998. This Accord obliges the federal government to work with the provinces in setting standards and resolving issues of concern. It has significantly narrowed the scope of the federal government's power to act to protect the environment--and that includes stopping the bulk export of fresh water. In fact, during the recent public discussion around the developing federal strategy on water, the feds admitted they will have to consult with the provinces before defining their strategy. Meanwhile, Ontario has proposed a regulation under the Ontario Water Resources Act (OWRA) called the "Surface Water Transfers Policy" to control water transfer. However, the Act deals primarily with allocations of water between municipalities and between landowners. It is not designed to deal with inter-basin transfers and water diversion projects. And the OWRA does not give Cabinet the power to regulate water transfers or removal. The proposed regulation also excludes groundwater altogether. Nova Corp. has said it would try to access ground water. Whether Ontario has the authority, under its laws, to regulate the taking of surface water may be a moot point if the issue requires federal and provincial consensus under the Harmonization Accord. And even if that were achieved, the NAFTA may have already trumped our ability to control our water. The danger is that large scale water takings (be they from the surface or from the ground) will, over time, affect the environment in ways we can only guess at now. One thing is for sure, the first to suffer will be the fish and wildlife. For Some excerpts from Chapter 11 of the NAFTA http://www.bmts.com/~dibaudjimoh/page67.html ================================================================ In Memory of Chief Vernon Sly Fox Pocknett, Mashpee Wampanoag Nation Memorial Page: http://www.lisn.net/wampanoag.htm#vernonpocknett URLS with Colombian Situation Statements and Updates at: http://www.hookele.com/hepohakualoha Big Mountain Updates at: http://www.lisn.net/home.htm#roberta and http://www.theofficenet.com/~redorman/pagea~1.htm League of Indigenous Sovereign Nations of the Western Hemisphere E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] LISN Web Site | http://www.lisn.net &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
