Thank you, Mr. Chair.
This is pretty serious, because the question that Mr. Laforest asked around water is something that has come up in Bolivia around some water contracts that have been issued. Tragically, trade agreements seem to be getting further and further away from the principle of water as a human right. Here we have a case where only natural surface water or groundwater is exempted from the act, but the moment I bring my bottle of water and fill it up in an industrial way, the moment I move to export bulk water, then it's no longer in its natural state. As a result, because of the wording of this particular clause, I think we're putting ourselves in a situation in the agreement where the kinds of issues that you raised earlier and the kinds of issues that Mr. Laforest raised continue to be a problem.
You very clearly, Mr. Chair, raised the point that you and other members of Parliament, and actually other members of the legislative assemblies across the country, all raised the issue around the possibility of bulk water export permits. The reason activists in every single province have had to intervene so forcibly is because there isn't a clear protection for water in this country.
I understand you may want to intervene, Mr. Chair, and raise the issue as well. There is not protection. It's very clear, when we see this particular agreement, which exempts only natural surface water or groundwater, that water is not protected. Once there's a bulk water export permit, once there's an industrial bottling permit that is issued, then all of a sudden, bam, we're simply out of the scope of exemption. That's a real problem, Mr. Chair, and it's a problem that has been ongoing in provinces across the country.
Now we have a trade agreement, and of course it's not one that's had a fulsome hearing in front of a trade committee. Certainly, I know there will be much debate in coming weeks and months around the advisability of what the committee may choose to move forward, and certainly, the Speaker will have to rule on it as well. But we have here a smoking gun, a clause that very clearly puts us in a situation where bulk water export permits or industrial bottling plants remove water from that exemption. That means they're subject to the investor-state provisions in the agreement. Mr. Chair, that is a fundamental problem that we cannot avoid.
If we are doing the appropriate due diligence on this agreement, even though as a committee we have not heard the many witnesses who have asked to come before this committee, then we have a smoking gun of a clause that's brought before us that clearly indicates a problem, since the definition of “natural” is water that is not commercialized, whether through industrial bottling or through bulk water. We have a problem. This clause again puts us on that slippery slope towards potential for bulk water exports, or that slippery slope for potential for industrial bottling. This is something that increasingly organizations are speaking out about--the Council of Canadians is speaking out about it, and other organizations across the country have been speaking out about it. As a result, Mr. Chair, as you well know, there is a degree of public concern around this issue that we have to take into consideration.
This is a real problem. This clause 4 is an issue. It's an issue in my province. It's an issue in Quebec. I'm sure we may have some other speakers on this issue as well. We simply cannot pass this clause as is.
How do we fix it? Well, Mr. Chair, that's a real problem, a real conundrum.