NDP MPs demand Harper government halt bulk export Canada's fresh water supply

SPP integration deal risks Canadian sovereignty and vital fresh water resources

Edited by Peggy Chan

OTTAWA – Fresh water has become the latest target of efforts by U.S. interests to take over the resources of other countries, under the guise "protecting American security", as well as spreading the alleged virtues of "free market" capitalism. Canada stands to lose millions of litres of fresh water as a result of bulk water exports if the Conservatives enact proposals being discussed later this week in a closed-door meeting in Calgary.

NDP parliamentary activists stood on the steps of Parliament Hill on 26 April 2007, and called for a full parliamentary debate on the issue of the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP) -- before the government implements the political economic, cultural, and military assimilation of Canada in the U.S. any further. This process has been dubbed "deep integration".

"We are calling on the Canadian government to pull out of these talks. It is beyond all reason that our government would be looking for ways to ship our fresh water resources in bulk to the United States," said NDP International Trade Critic Peter Julian.

The Council of Canadians also revealed a leaked memo in late April 2007, that showed high level secret-talks would begin in the last week of April 2007, in Calgary, between government and business leaders to discuss "water consumption, water transfers and artificial diversions of bulk water" with the aim of achieving "joint optimum utilization of the available water."

Mr. Julian was joined by NDP Natural Resources Critic Catherine Bell and Peggy Nash (Parkdale High Park) who both echoed his concern.

"Water is our most precious resource," said Bell. "We shouldn’t be looking to sell it off to the lowest bidder. We need a full and open debate in the House of Commons about deeper integration with the U.S. and specifically on the future of our fresh water reserves."

The North American Future 2025 Project, an initiative being led by the U.S.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Conference Board of Canada and the Mexican Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas calls for a series of "closed-door meetings" on North American integration with government officials dealing with a number of highly contentious issues including bulk water exports, a joint security perimeter, and a continental resource pact.

"Access to water is a fundamental right and therefore should not be treated as a commodity in trade agreements," declared Nash, who recently tabled a motion in Parliament to ban bulk water exports. "The issue of air quality has rightfully jumped to the top of the political agenda recently, but we must not forget about the importance of clean, safe water."

As U.S. Big Business interests continue to destroy its own resources with reckless environmental policies, these interests correspondingly seek to take-over the resources of other countries. This is psychosis of the American capitalist system As this occurs, a consortium of neo-conservative "intellectuals" that controls the U.S. political-military-industrial complex instead of pursuing conservation that would "hamper corporate profits" seeks to take-over and control the resources of other countries. This process includes a process of bribing elites of various countries to "surrender" national vital resources needed to sustain societal quality-of-living to U.S. greed driven interests; and if that technique fails, using contrived pre-emptive military force as in the case of Iraq..

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