OTTAWA - A former American ambassador is pushing for a fresh debate on bulk water exports from Canada to quench the growing thirst of the U.S. south and midwest.
Paul Cellucci, who was replaced by David Wilkins after stepping down as U.S. ambassador to Canada in March 2005, is suggesting water should be included in the same category as other natural resources exported as Canadian commodities on the open market.
''It wasn't an issue when I was ambassador, but it was one that I always found puzzling that it was completely off the table,'' said Cellucci, reached by phone in Hudson, Mass.
He argued water is a renewable resource, as opposed to such non-renewable Canadian exports as oil, natural gas, uranium and coal, adding that the two countries will eventually be forced to confront the issue.
But a citizens organization that has fought for more protectionist measures for Canada in free trade agreements warns American officials are quietly laying the groundwork for bulk exports that could deprive Canadians of their own resources.
''We live next to a super power,'' said Maude Barlow, chairperson of the Council of Canadians. ''The super power is getting mighty thirsty.''
At present, Canadian provinces allow water to be exported in bottles, while there is a ban on bulk exports on boundary waters that are shared with the United States. However, Barlow said Canada would lose control over the resource under the North American Free Trade Agreement, if any province or territory opens to the door to sales of bulk water exports to regions that are starting to face record droughts in the U.S.
With Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government developing a new national water strategy, Barlow stressed she wasn't suggesting that Canada close the door to sharing its resources with countries in need.
''That's different from making another country a permanent client, especially a country like the U.S., where the water would go to Las Vegas, it wouldn't be going to the poor in downtown Detroit,'' she said. ''The whole nature of commercial water is that it's like running shoes. You're putting it on the open market and you're selling it to the highest bidder. This would be a terrible thing for us to do in a world that's running out of clean water.''
But Cellucci said it is also an important economic issue since the Canadian and U.S. markets are ''inextricably connected.'' For example, he said a severe drought in southern American states would have a significant impact on the Canadian economy.
But some experts say it's unlikely that the U.S. would bully Canada into exporting its water, since that could also affect the ecosystems and resources of northern states.
''There are going to be environmental impacts on both sides of the border if we start mega scale diversions,'' said Dr. Joseph Rasmussen, the Canada research chair in aquatic ecosystems at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta. ''They don't want those impacts any more than we do.''
Rasmussen added there were greater threats to Canada's water supply than bulk exports.
'Right now, I'd say by far and away, the biggest water export is through food,'' he said. ''For every pound of grain, you're using about 25 pounds of water. And so whenever we export food across the border, we're exporting water in a major way.''
Gretchen Hamel, a spokesperson for the office of the U.S. Trade Representative, said the issue of bulk water exports is brought up every few years, but there are currently no negotiations or proposals on the table.
According to federal government estimates, Canada has the third largest supply of fresh water on its territory behind Brazil and Russia.
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