Foreign Affairs committee  Good morning. I would like to begin by echoing Adèle's thanks to the committee for the opportunity to be with you this morning. My remarks today reflect the long-standing interest that CWIC has had in the issue of interbasin removals of water generally, and water exports more sp

Foreign Affairs committee  It's not so much in terms of amendments, but that there is a different approach. We have suggested a different approach in the model act that I talked about. It is oriented to interbasin removals generally and is focused on basins rather than on international boundaries. One of

Foreign Affairs committee  I would have thought the economics of rail transport would be unlikely to make that the most obvious mode. The most likely mode, and it has been the subject of some proposals, is marine tankers—the Friel Lake example in B.C.—in which you get close to a coastal lake, load up the t

Foreign Affairs committee  I think it's fair to say there is a fair bit of trade both ways in bottled water, but if you look at the actual volume we're talking about, it's in terms of swimming pools rather than something really significant. That was probably one of the reasons we didn't address it. Of co

Foreign Affairs committee  I think you are talking there, sir, about the amendments for the boundary waters legislation.

Foreign Affairs committee  There wouldn't be any boundary waters on the coast that would be relevant.

Foreign Affairs committee  The only conceivable one would be the St. Croix River. I grew up at the mouth of the St. Croix, and there's no way you could get a tanker up to the point where the waters are non-saline. That's why they're not covered. The waters you're talking about are not boundary waters and

Foreign Affairs committee  It may well be covered by provincial legislation. Whether or not it's a federal matter depends on the federal government's own choice. It would certainly involve international trade, which is certainly within the federal purview. Now, the federal government may choose to defer th

Foreign Affairs committee  Boundary and non-transboundary waters are what you're dealing with, yes.

Foreign Affairs committee  This bill certainly would allow tanker exports. It doesn't say anything about it.

Foreign Affairs committee  Oh, sorry, if it's transboundary waters, no, it wouldn't.

Foreign Affairs committee  I can't conceive of any transboundary waters where tankers would be involved, so it's sort of a moot point.

Foreign Affairs committee  It probably prohibits them, because it says “by any other means,” but there are—

Foreign Affairs committee  I didn't quite get your first question. Could you perhaps clarify that?

Foreign Affairs committee  Sure, absolutely. As you may remember, one of the issues surrounding NAFTA was whether or not there should be an explicit provision excepting bulk water removal. What was done with NAFTA was interesting. There was a fix, if you will. They didn't change NAFTA, but they—meaning the