Freshwater in Canada: A Finite Resource
British Columbia Women's Institute recommends that all levels of Government enact legislation to protect our water now and for the future. We are concerned about protecting freshwater in Canada. Water is a limited and vulnerable resource that is the basic necessity of life. British Columbia Women’s Institute has, for some time, had a vested interest in global water issues. We donate to a fund called “Clean Water for All” through the Associated Country Women of the World. We need to ensure our natural resource is not taken for granted. Protect it and prevent Canada from becoming like many other countries in the world, who struggle to find adequate water for their people. There have been many changes that affect our water: global warming, excessive industrial use of potable water, world growth in population and international interest.There is an urgent need for wise stewardship through legislation of freshwater in Canada; therefore, British Columbia Women’s Institute urgently requests government to ensure the protection of our finite fresh water resource as soon as possible. Canada holds 7% of the world’s renewable freshwater. (www.ec.gc.ca) When water is taken out of the free flow system for export it becomes a commodity of international investors. These investors threaten the stability of Canadian agriculture and food by having rights superior to Canadian food producers and Canadian consumers.
Government Should Be Protecting Freshwater in Canada
Water is not a service or an investment (to another country) but a natural resource for Canadian health and food production. Canada has no binding protection on the ban of bulk water removal or exports. All levels of government in Canada have an important role in achieving a permanent Canada-wide solution for the prohibition of bulk water removal including removal for export purposes. Water is not a commodity to be bought and sold. Food production and providing water as a necessity of life must take precedence over the monetary interest of companies. Excessive industrial use takes water out of the hydrologic cycle; examples are fracking of natural gas reserves and extracting oil from the tar sands.Groundwater, our hidden resource, needs protection by all levels of government; over 30% of the population relies on groundwater for domestic use. We need to conserve and protect our freshwater resource.(Image Credit: Matt Rudge)
