When the B.C. government placed a ban on freshwater exports in 1995, it gave an American company called Sun Belt the legal option, under the North American Free trade Agreement, to sue Canada.
A $13-billion chapter 11 action under NAFTA against Canada is still pending, says Wendy Holm, an agrologist who has been leading a fight on behalf of B.C. farmers to get an exemption for water under the Free Trade and NAFTA agreements.
The Sun Belt action is just one example of what can happen under free trade agreements with the U.S.
"The issue is not just exports, the issue is use," says Holm, co-author of the book Water and Free Trade.
Under free trade agreements, certain commodities can be exempted -- raw timber, for example.
Water is not explicitly excluded from NAFTA or it precursor, the FTA, despite assurances to the contrary by Canadian politicians to the contrary.
"They stood up and said water was not included," Holm said.
But it was, and Holm said that creates serious sovereignty concerns. Including water in free trade agreements gives American companies a say over how water is used in Canada.
For example, an American oil company drilling in Canada may have a water licence for extracting residual oil.
If farmers apply to a water board for water licence for, say an irrigation project, the water board could be bound, under free trade agreements, to maintain the American company's rights above those of Canadian farmers.
"This gives U.S. companies unprecedented rights that tie the hands of water boards," Holm said.
Irrigation projects here could also be viewed by American farmers as an advantage, and oblige Canada to allow it to participate in the project. Refusal to do so could trigger multi-billion dollar penalties.
Excluding water from free trade agreements does not mean Canadian companies or governments could not still negotiate bulk water exports or multi-national dam projects, Holm said.
"We're not saying anything about exports," Holm said. "This is not an anti-export campaign."
Free trade exclusions would, however, prevent Canada from being penalized for exercising its sovereignty over water.
In February, Holm will be going to Ottawa with dozens of resolutions by farm organizations throughout B.C. to press for changes to NAFTA and the FTA.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. NoNonsense English offers this material non-commercially for research and educational purposes. I believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner, i.e. the media service or newspaper which first published the article online and which is indicated at the top of the article unless otherwise specified.