Mr. Chair, I beg to differ. There's an issue of whether or not there have been bulk water exports up until now, and, as you know, Mr. Chair, in a whole bunch of provinces, including my own, including Newfoundland, including Quebec and Ontario, there have been battles around bulk water export permits.
The issue that exists is that because there isn't an ironclad definition of what water is subject to those trade rules and subject to the investor-state provisions that exist in the Colombia trade deal, as they do in other trade deals, the problem is that once those bulk water exports start—and it doesn't matter which province does it—then, according to the definition we've been getting here, it would mean that yes, trade rules would apply and the investor-state provisions may apply.
Certainly, Mr. Chair, in my province the reason Sun Belt was able to bring an investor-state suit against the provincial government is that this opening is there. Fortunately, the former B.C. NDP government banned bulk water exports, but if the current government changes that, then we could be in a situation in which water that is in a bulk water container is subject to the provisions around investor-state and provisions around trade rules.
So this is a matter of some concern. This isn't a moot point; I beg to differ. It is a point that is quite substantial. Surface or groundwater, when we don't talk about a ”natural state”, would protect those water resources to a much greater extent. If we're saying “natural” and we are defining “natural” as up until the point that it is put in containers—