Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to speak to the bill introduced by the hon. member for Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound. Our party intends to support this legislation, and I commend my colleague opposite for bringing it forward. However, I particularly want to thank all the activists in Canada who have been urging the government for several years to protect our most precious resource, namely our water.
Bill C-383 amends the International Boundary Waters Treaty Act to strengthen the prohibitions against bulk water removal and to improve current protections. It targets all boundary waters between Canada and the United States, the waters flowing from Canada into the United States, and the rivers flowing into the United States.
In my opinion, this is an important piece of legislation that would help protect our resources. As a member of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources, protecting Canada's waters is a major concern of mine. Therefore, I appreciate this opportunity to debate the bill, to stress its positive aspects, and to also discuss its limitations.
First, it is important to point out that the bill proposed by the member for Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound is quite similar to the legislation presented by the Conservative government in 2010. Indeed, a bill was introduced following promises made by the Conservatives in the 2008 and 2009 throne speeches to introduce legislation to ban bulk water transfers or exports from Canadian freshwater basins.
As hon. members know, the bill presented by the Conservatives was never passed because it never went beyond first reading stage. Of course, it was not a government priority. The reason I am discussing the similarities with the old legislation is not just to underline the Conservatives' inaction to this day, but also because one of the positive aspects of Bill C-383 is that it addresses a major flaw that existed in Bill C-26. Indeed, the latter did not protect Canadian waters from its most serious threat, that is transfers from a water basin that is neither a boundary nor transboundary water body from Canada into the United States.
As for Bill C-383, it proposes to amend the International River Improvements Act to prohibit the issuing of permits for projects that link non-boundary waters to an international river when the purpose of such projects is to increase the annual flow towards the United States. This is an important change that would prohibit the issuing of a permit to build, operate or maintain a canal or pipeline transporting Canadian water to an international river.
Like its predecessor, Bill C-383 has one major flaw: it does not prohibit all bulk water exports. That is why the NDP believes the legislation needs to go further. It must provide greater protection to this precious resource, water. We are hoping for legislation that provides for the protection of all surface water in Canada, the development of a plan coordinated with the provinces to implement the ban on bulk water removal, and the signing of binational agreements that would prevent the United States from acting unilaterally to import water.
Finally, the NDP especially wishes that the federal government will commit to addressing the threat posed by NAFTA to the sovereignty of Canada's water resources.
For those who may not know that, under NAFTA, Canadian water is both a service and an investment.
NAFTA defines water as a product. The definition of water as a good could weaken or invalidate provincial and federal legislation and regulations on the protection of our water.
In this regard, the Council of Canadians reminded us of the worrisome example of California's SunBelt Corporation. In 1990, SunBelt entered into an alliance with Canadian company Snowcap Waters to export bulk water from British Columbia to the United States.
On March 18, 1991, the Government of British Columbia imposed a moratorium on water exports. That moratorium was followed by the provincial government passing the Water Protection Act, which banned water exports for good.
After the British Columbia government passed this legislation, SunBelt filed a lawsuit against Canada under NAFTA provisions and demanded $10 billion in compensation.
At last report, the matter was still unresolved.
In order to deal with such threats, former NDP MP Bill Blaikie introduced, in 1999, an opposition motion that led to the moratorium on bulk water exports. The motion, which was adopted by the House, also tasked the government with introducing legislation to prohibit bulk freshwater exports and interbasin transfers. Furthermore, the motion stated that the federal government should not be a party to any international agreement that would compel Canada to export freshwater against its will.
The day after the motion was adopted, the Liberal government of the day announced a strategy to prohibit bulk water removal, including exports, in Canada's major basins. However, as was the case with many other grand Liberal announcements, the government did nothing tangible.
Needless to say, the NDP has not given up on its efforts to protect water. In June 2007, the NDP member for Burnaby—New Westminster moved a motion asking the government to initiate talks with the U.S. and Mexican governments to ensure that water is excluded from NAFTA. The motion was adopted by the House, but the government has not yet had serious discussions with these countries.
Always mindful of protecting Canadians' interests, the hon. member for Burnaby—New Westminster did not abandon the cause. In 2011, he tried again by once again introducing his motion calling for a national water strategy, Motion No. 5:
That, in the opinion of the House, the government should develop and present a comprehensive water policy based on public trust, which would specifically: (a) recognize that access to water is a fundamental right; (b) recognize the UN Economic and Social Council finding, in General Comment 15 on the International Covenant on Economic, Cultural, and Social Rights (2002), that access to clean water is a human right; (c) prohibit bulk water exports and implement strict restrictions on new diversions; (d) introduce legislation on national standards for safe, clean drinking water; (e) implement a national investment strategy to enable municipalities and aboriginal communities to upgrade desperately needed infrastructure without resorting to privatization through public-private partnerships; (f) oppose measures in international agreements that promote the privatization of water services; and (g) commit to ensure water does not become a tradable commodity in current and future trade deals.
I would like to commend the hon. member for Burnaby—New Westminster for showing the type of practical steps that must be taken. We must do what is necessary to make it law.