Mr. Speaker, I would first like to thank the member for Lac-Saint-Louis for introducing this motion, which gives the Bloc Québécois an opportunity to speak again about this major issue and express its concerns about this resource. The Bloc Québécois is very concerned about protecting water and water quality.
As it is worded, the motion before us gives us a great deal of scope for debate. I could have opted to talk about drinking water, groundwater or aquifers—and my colleagues may have already done so—but in light of recent events having to do with bulk sales of water, I have chosen to speak about this particular aspect of the motion.
Recent discussions on water management, including the Calgary forum held on April 26 and 27, organized by the American CSIS, the Conference Board of Canada and Mexico's CIDE, have renewed fears about massive water exports.
I have received many comments from people in my riding and elsewhere and from environmental and other organizations. Without exception, these individuals and groups have serious concerns about what could become of the water in Quebec and Canada. To the vast majority of the people I represent, the crux of the matter is that our water is a very important resource that must be protected.
I would like to quickly review the division of powers with respect to water in Canada, to clarify what we are debating today for the people who are watching.
As the parliamentary secretary explained, the federal government has very limited powers over water. They extend to shipping, fisheries and the powers the federal government exercises as the trustee of the first nations and the owner of certain lands.
Section 132 of the BNA Act gives the federal government the power to implement the Boundary Waters Treaty signed by England in 1909 on behalf of the empire. However, it cannot go beyond the treaty provisions, because it would be interfering in the jurisdictions of the provinces, which own and manage the water.
Quebec and the provinces are responsible for water. Water, as a resource, is a provincial jurisdiction. The bulk of the jurisdiction over water belongs to the provinces.
Under the Constitution, they have ownership of lands, including the waters, and have the right to administer or use them as they see fit. They have the exclusive right to regulate municipal facilities, including their drinking water distribution system. They have exclusive jurisdiction over the “development, conservation and management of sites and facilities in the province for the generation and production of electrical energy”.
The Constitution also gives the provinces exclusive jurisdiction over the “development, conservation and management of non-renewable natural resources and forestry resources in the province”.
As such, Quebec already has its own water resources protection system. When André Boisclair was environment minister, he provided Quebec with a water policy in 2002.
This policy already implements the objectives proposed in the Liberal motion, namely: ensure the protection of this unique resource; manage water with a view to sustainable development; better protect public health and ecosystems.
With this policy, Quebec wanted to recognize water as a valuable asset of Quebec society and reaffirm that water is an integral part of Quebec's collective heritage.
By giving water this special status, the Quebec government took on the responsibility of regulating water use, establishing priority uses and preserving water quality and quantity, while taking the public interest into account.
Quebec has a real legislative framework to ensure the protection and quality of its water resources, whether for human consumption or activities involving contact with water such as swimming and water sports.
The Government of Quebec tightened its standards by adopting the Regulation respecting the quality of drinking water and the Regulation respecting groundwater catchment.
The Liberal motion before us would simply duplicate what is already being done by the players who truly control the resource.
Let us now consider the commercial aspect of water issues. In response to a series of questions the Bloc Québécois raised in the House of Commons over the past few weeks, the government said that NAFTA does not restrict our ability to protect our water resources. However, the situation is not that clear.
Currently, NAFTA applies to all trading among the three North American countries, with a number of exceptions, including hydroelectricity, military equipment, and so on. Unless a commodity is specifically excluded from NAFTA by means of an exception under chapter 21 or a reservation, NAFTA applies the moment a commercial transaction is concluded. There is no formal exception or reservation for water. Therefore, we do not believe it is covered by NAFTA.
Article 309 of NAFTA states that:
—no Party may adopt or maintain any prohibition or restriction ... on the exportation or sale for export of any good destined for the territory of another Party—
The House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade asked the Minister of International Trade for clarification in 2001. The minister's response was that “—water in its natural state ... was not included in NAFTA”.
Water is in its natural state when it is not being used. If a proposal to take water for export is put forward, we can no longer say that it is not being used. If a contract is signed to that effect, a commercial transaction exists and trade agreements apply. Unless a commodity is specifically excluded from NAFTA through an exception under chapter 21 or a reservation, NAFTA applies the moment a commercial transaction is concluded.
In the absence of an exception, it is not the nature of the commodity that determines whether it is a marketable commodity, but the existence of a commercial transaction or even a plan to commercialize the resource.
In a nutshell, regardless of what the government says, water is not excluded from NAFTA.
Although no government is currently planning to dispute Quebec or Canadian legislation, there is no reason to believe that that will continue to be the case once North Americans begin to feel water shortages more acutely because of over-exploitation and global warming. When that happens, it is not at all unlikely that Quebec's laws will be challenged by those wishing to take water directly from our lakes and rivers.
The Bloc Québécois believes that it is irresponsible to wait for this situation to arise. The federal government must initiate discussions with the Americans and the Mexicans to exclude water from NAFTA right now, before water shortages reach the crisis stage.
That is why the Bloc Québécois tabled a motion at the Standing Committee on International Trade formally recommending to the government that it quickly initiate talks with its Mexican and American counterparts to exclude water from the goods governed by NAFTA.
Motion M-249 completely ignores this avenue, which nonetheless is the only one that will provide real protection for water.
I would like to conclude by briefly speaking about the discussions on water exports that were held in Calgary at the end of April.
The North American Future 2025 Project is an initiative of the U.S. Centre for Strategic and International Studies. The Conference Board of Canada and its Mexican counterpart are participating in this project.
The three organizations met last April and discussed the future of the North American environment, and more specifically water consumption, water transfers and the artificial diversion of bulk water, with the aim of optimizing the joint use of the available water in North America.
This is very worrisome. Although the Conservative government has finally indicated that it will not participate in such discussions, the simple fact that it is not taking action to exclude water from NAFTA encourages such discussion about bulk water exports.
Rather than suggesting that the federal government limit itself to its own jurisdictions over boundary waters and water in native communities, or suggesting that the government adopt the only sensible solution—excluding water from NAFTA—the Liberal Party proposes to eliminate provincial jurisdiction over water and to introduce a new federal integrated strategy, even though this is a provincial jurisdiction.
The Bloc Québécois is opposed to the principle of this motion.