Mr. Speaker, today I would like to speak to Bill C-383, An Act to amend the International Boundary Waters Treaty Act and the International River Improvements Act.
I will start by saying that the NDP will be supporting this bill despite all its flaws.
This bill would amend the International Boundary Waters Treaty Act to strengthen prohibitions against the bulk removal of water and to enhance current protections. The bill applies to all transboundary waters between Canada and the United States, waters that flow from Canada to the United States and rivers that flow to the United States. If I am not mistaken, the Saint-François River, in the riding of Drummond, is affected by this bill.
This bill is very important to me because water is one of the world's greatest natural resources. Water is an incredible resource. It should even be a human right. The United Nations General Assembly recognized the right to water. On July 28, 2010, the General Assembly adopted, by an overwhelming majority, a resolution recognizing the human right to water and sanitation. It is a right that is essential to human survival. It is such a fundamental right that violating it can cause death in just a few days if people do not have access to drinking water.
Canada is very rich in water, in lakes and rivers of all sizes. Our country's water should be protected by a far-sighted national water policy.
After a series of promises from the Conservatives, this bill is before us at last. However, it does not address the most likely threat to Canadian waters: the interbasin transfer of water. Those are neither boundary nor transboundary waters, but they could be linked to international waters that flow from Canada to the United States and then exported to the United States.
While Bill C-383 is a step in the right direction, it clearly does not ban all bulk exports of water. My colleague mentioned in his question that the bill has some serious weaknesses that could lead to bulk exports of water. We will continue our fight to reach our objectives. The NDP is completely opposed to bulk water exports.
Thus, we want to ensure that all surface water is protected, that any eventual water exports by tanker ships are regulated, and that NAFTA's threats to our water supply are opposed. What is needed is a coordinated plan by all provinces to establish measures that ban the removal of water in bulk. We must call for the signing of bilateral agreements that would prevent the United States from acting unilaterally to import water and would address the issue of the exemptions under the act that allow the export of bottled drinking water and other beverages.
As we can see, this would not be just a little bill about boundary waters. We want it to have a much larger scope. It would truly be a national water policy. In order to accomplish this, we need a government that really understands the importance of water to Canada. Unfortunately, the Conservative government is not demonstrating such an understanding at this time. The Conservatives prefer to act through little bills and little actions. We see that such actions are not part of a vision. The Conservatives do not have much of a vision.
When we were talking earlier about the railways, it was the same thing. It lacked vision. This bill shows that the Conservatives have no vision.
In the NDP, we have a real, overall vision of what a national water policy to prevent bulk water exports should be.
NAFTA defines water as a product. That is why that agreement has long been considered a threat to Canada's sovereignty over its water resources.
On February 9, 1999, the House of Commons adopted an NDP motion calling for an immediate moratorium on the export of bulk freshwater shipments and interbasin transfers. The motion also called on the government to introduce legislation to prohibit bulk freshwater exports and interbasin transfers. Furthermore, the motion asked that the federal government not be a party to any international agreement that compels Canada to export freshwater against its will.
It should be clear to everyone that the NDP has been working on this issue for a long time and working in this field for a long time. For many years, the NDP has called for a ban on bulk freshwater exports. The NDP has been the leading voice in this. We even have an idea for a national water strategy, which is very important.
I would also like to talk about a recent report by the Commissioner of the Environment, Mr. Vaughan. The report was released last week. And I would like to thank Mr. Vaughan again for the excellent work he has done for Canadians. He has done an excellent job as environment commissioner.
In his recent report on the environment, he said that the federal government has not done its job when it comes to shale gas. According to Environment Canada, Health Canada and the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, it is the responsibility of the federal government to ensure that health and the environment are protected against chemicals.
At present, the federal government does not require mandatory disclosure of the chemicals used by shale gas companies. This is very serious, in spite of what they would have us believe. Every year, about 600 shale gas wells use the equivalent of 360,000 Olympic swimming pools of water, all mixed with 900 Olympic swimming pools of chemicals. When they say it is just a bit of chemicals seeping into the ground and into our environment, they forget to mention that it is mixed with a huge quantity of water, and that this amounts to a huge quantity of chemicals. The federal government, the Conservative government, is failing to protect our water, because it does not require mandatory disclosure of the chemicals used in the shale gas industry.
I am very proud of the position taken by the leader of opposition, who is calling on the Conservative government to require mandatory disclosure of these chemicals. Unfortunately, the Conservative government is resting on its laurels and doing nothing about it. This is a threat to the environment and to people’s health.
In fact, the environment commissioner said that it is a violation of the Federal Sustainable Development Act, which includes the precautionary principle. The precautionary principle goes like this: when you are not sure, when you have doubts, and when there is a risk of a threat to health or the environment, you have to take precautions. If the Conservative government at least required disclosure of the chemicals, an appropriate analysis could be done and proper rules made and standards established for shale gas so that it is done in a way that is not harmful to the environment and human health. At present, we are in a complete vacuum.
I have talked a lot about shale gas in this regard because I care a lot about it. My hon. colleague’s bill does not mention this national water policy, but it is necessary. What is missing is a more comprehensive vision, a broader vision. Water is a human right recognized by the United Nations. We have to have a strong national water policy that we can use to protect our environment and human health.