Background information on bulk water removal and water export

What does it mean?

Bulk water removal

the removal and transfer of water out of its basin of origin by man-made diversions (e.g., canals), tanker ships or trucks, and pipelines. Such removals have the potential, directly or cumulatively, to harm the health of a drainage basin. Small-scale removal, such as water in small portable containers, is not considered bulk.

Watershed

a land area draining into a common watercourse or waterbody. Often called a catchment area, a drainage basin, or a river basin. Examples of major watersheds in Canada include Atlantic (including the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River), Hudson Bay, Pacific, and Arctic. For example, the Great Lakes drainage basin is not restricted to the lakes themselves, but includes the many rivers and their tributaries that ultimately flow into the lakes.

Boundary waters

shared waters with the Canada-U.S. border running through them. The principal boundary waters are the Great Lakes. The Upper Saint John river between New Brunswick and Maine is an example of a boundary river.

The watershed approach

Canada's major watersheds contain approximately 7 percent of the world's renewable freshwater supply and 20 percent of the world's total freshwater resources, including waters captured in glaciers and the polar ice caps.

Water is the lifeblood of the environment, essential to the survival of all living things – plants, animals, and humans. In conjunction with other variables such as climate change, and industrial, municipal and agricultural uses, bulk water removal projects could have direct or cumulative effect on watersheds. Impacts could include the inter-basin transfer of non-native microorganisms and exotic species, the alteration of natural ecosystems, and changes in water flows and levels, and groundwater tables.

The watershed is the fundamental ecological unit in protecting and conserving both the quality and quantity of water resources. A watershed or drainage basin approach, is environmentally sound and respects provincial and territorial authorities in water management. Provinces, territories, and the federal government are adopting a watershed approach as a key principle in water policy and legislation. The watershed approach recognizes the linkages of water systems and the need to manage water within drainage basins rather than on a river-by-river or lake-by-lake basis.

The preservation of watersheds is important for the health and integrity of our ecosystems and the communities that reside within them.

A strategy to protect Canadian water

The Government of Canada's strategy to prohibit the bulk removal of water from major Canadian water basins, including for the purpose of export, is both environmentally sound and consistent with Canada's international trade obligations. It builds on sound water management principles and the need to protect the integrity of Canada's watersheds.

Water is a shared responsibility between the federal, provincial, and territorial governments, and each have an important role to play in protecting Canada's freshwater resources. The strategy recognizes that provinces have the primary responsibility for water management and that the Government of Canada has certain legislative authorities in the areas of navigation, fisheries, federal land, and shared water resources with the U.S. Actions by territorial governments are also becoming increasingly important as they assume greater responsibility over water resource management. All governments have an important role to play in achieving a permanent, Canada-wide solution to the prohibition of bulk water removal, including removal for export purposes.

The strategy respects Canada's trade obligations because it focusses on water in its natural state (e.g., in rivers or lakes). Water in its natural state is not a good or product, and is therefore not subject to international trade agreements. Nothing in the North American Free Trade Agreement or in the World Trade Organization agreements obliges Canada to exploit its water for commercial use or to begin exporting water in any form.

Key elements of the federal strategy

Amendments to the International Boundary Waters Treaty Act

• The Boundary Waters Treaty (1909) provides mechanisms to help prevent and resolve disputes, primarily concerning water quantity and quality along the Canada-U.S. boundary.
• The International Joint Commission was established under the Treaty. Parliament passed the International Boundary Waters Treaty Act (IBWTA) in 1911 to implement the Treaty.
• As a key contribution under the strategy, amendments to the IBWTA to prohibit bulk removal from the Canadian portions of boundary waters, principally the Great Lakes, received Royal Assent in December 2001.
• On December 9, 2002 An Act to Amend the International Boundary Waters Treaty Act and related regulations came into force. The main purpose of the amendments is to prohibit the removal of boundary water from their water basins, principally the Great Lakes. In addition, water-related projects in boundary waters, such as dams, dikes or other obstructions that affect the level or flow of waters on the United States side of the border will now require licenses from the Minister of Foreign Affairs. These changes will strengthen Canada's implementation of the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909.

Reference to the International Joint Commission

• A consistent Canada-U.S. approach to the issue is an important element in protecting our shared waters over the long term. In February 1999, Canada and the United States agreed on a joint reference to the International Joint Commission (IJC); that would build on the IJC's 1985 study regarding consumptive uses, diversions, and bulk removals, including for export, from the Great Lakes.
• Work on the first phase of this reference commenced on February 10^th, 1999. Public hearings were held in 4 Canadian and 4 U.S. cities in spring of that year, where concerned citizens from both sides of the border, as well as interested organizations were engaged in the consultation process. As part of its examination, the IJC also consulted with interested provinces and territories in its work. On August 18^th 1999, the IJC submitted an interim report to the Canadian and U.S. governments. The key recommendation called for an immediate moratorium on bulk removal of water from the Great Lakes.
• Following 6 months of broad consultations on the Interim Report, the IJC submited its final report to the U.S. and Canadian governments in March 2000. The Final Report, entitled Protection of the Waters of the Great Lakes , recommended that the governments "should not permit any new proposal for removal of water from the Great Lakes Basin to proceed unless the proponent can demonstrate that the removal would not endanger the integrity of the ecosystem of the Great Lakes Basin". The Commission recommended strict criteria should be applied, including giving full consideration to the potential cumulative impacts of single and future such removals, that there should be "no net loss" of water to the area from which it is taken, and that the water is returned in a condition that protects the quality of and prevents the introduction of alien invasive species into the waters of the Great Lakes. Application of these criteria would effectively prevent any large-scale or long distance removal of water from the Great Lakes Basin.

Provincial measures

• The long term security of Canada's freshwater requires that all governments implement legislation, regulations, or policy to prohibit bulk water removals.
• All provinces have in place legislation, regulations or policies prohibiting the bulk removal of water. This provides solid assurance that bulk removals and exports will not proceed any time in the near future.

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