Canadian Conservatives poised to export bulk water!

[Praxius]

............"Following the long standing Conservative dream of including water into NAFTA and changing bulk water to a commodity is fore front in their plans. The Conservative Association of Canada went before the Privy Council to argue that Water bulk export was included in NAFTA and were told it was not! They said they would wait for a better day. With Conservative Governments in across the map now seems like a good time to go for the gold!

If we export water under NAFTA rules (which are inherently unfair and biased towards the US), we must give the Americans first chance at the water and we cannot charge the Americans more money than we are now paying.

The higher they push the prices on Canadian water to Canadians, the higher the exporters can charge for the water going to the US. This is simply price fixing on a grand scale!

Under the new scheme, when it comes time to export, people will be paying more money for water than those people in California who are the targeted export market. Costs of the necessary pipelines to export will be added to Canadian water bills.

Harper is on side. The Canada Environment are running TV is carrying subtle advertisements in fill in spots saying “our water is our finest resource and it must be shared.”
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You know, this reminded me of a quote I saw not too long ago in these forums:

Voting Conservative has become (unfortunately) the ONLY alternative if you give a damn about Canada.

I personally believe we're no where near running low on our supply of fresh water in Canada...... but I'll be damned if I'll support any political party selling it out to other countries, including the US.

 

[Walter]

Alberta is now the highest taxed state in north America!

Man, are you daft.

 

[damngrumpy]

I believe we should be paying one price for domestic use
and another for export. We need to legislatively control
the tap on our natural resources. That does not mean the
govenment should outright own them all, but we should
ensure, that these resources benefit Canadians first.
We need to have Canadian citizens either given tax relief
for pensions and medicare or given direct dividends on the
value of the resourses we own, After all, the governments
tell us, the natural resourses belong to all Canadians. Why
is it then that only the big corporations benefit from the out
right profit. If we are going to receive tax relief, or dividends
we should pay world market value. If we are not going to
benefit financially as stated above, we should receive one
price and another for export, either way it is time we all had
a real share in the profit, and not just government lip service.
As for bulk Water, not one drop should be exported, in bulk.
Water is going to be the new world currency and we already
have a large share if not most of it. When all the guns are
silenced, clean, fresh water, will still be the main weapon,
and center of influence.

 

[YukonJack]

Why not export water for money?

Is it really so much better to let water evaporate for nothing?

 

[captain morgan]

Why not export water for money?

That's an absolute no-no YJ as the potential doesn't parallel the agenda of the local greenie groups..... What's worse, if someone made a profit at it, why the hue and cry would ring out about the entitlements that have been denied.

 

[Cliffy]

Yup! Money, money, money! Who cares if our grand kids don't have any to drink? As long as a few can profit in the present on a resource that is everybody's inheritance. Greed is destroying the human race. Are you one of the reptilians, there captain?

 

[YukonJack]

Cliffy, I live in the centre of the flood-prone path of the Red River.

In spite of your typical left-loony fear-mongering I don't have any worries that my grand-children will have to go without water.

You and your ilk can drink what will be left over after their baths.

 

[Cliffy]

Cliffy, I live in the centre of the flood-prone path of the Red River.

In spite of your typical left-loony fear-mongering I don't have any worries that my grand-children will have to go without water.

You and your ilk can drink what will be left over after their baths.

Yes Jack, and the Americals used to think they had an endless supply of water too. Where are they now?

 

[taxslave]

If the US wants fresh water so badly they can always extract it from the ocean. Not that difficult to do. Then again a dry period or two might teach them a lesson about conservation.

 

[YukonJack]

Cliffy, Las Vegas, in the middle of a desert, thrives without Canadian water.

So does Phoenix, Albuaquarque, Tucson, Los Angeles, Santa Fe, San Diego, and any number of American cities that you and your "patriotic Canadian" ilk would like to see run dry.

Where are they now? I saw plenty of water in all the lakes on the Colorado River, the Columbia River and any number of rivers that flow into the Pacific.

I am sure that much to your dismay, the Americans WILL find a way to divert the present harmful floods of the Missouri, Mississippi and other great rivers (including the Red River) to their advantage. When that happens, you and your ilk will come out crying: It ain't fair".

 

[cyberclark]

Man, are you daft.

All the utilities have been turned over to municipalities, cities and other insiders. There are no controls on what they can charge for the services. Government Grants have been replaced with the funds from this "indirect taxation". I stand by what I say, all considered Alberta is the highest taxed state in North America!

Why not export water for money?

Is it really so much better to let water evaporate for nothing?

I have little problems with exporting water for money. I have a great problem with including it into the NAFTA agreement. Under NAFTA we cannot charge the Americans more than we are paying for our own water. Also NAFTA provides the US with the advantage of getting the last of any commodity being exported. We can't hold it for ourselves.

Alberta's track record under Conservatives is the taxpayer pays for all the pipelines as it did the power grid. There is never any evidence of us getting this money back!

Yes Jack, and the Americals used to think they had an endless supply of water too. Where are they now?

The flood plains are just that; flood plains and it is rough and wet (both sides of the border) The US and Canada are tying to work out a way to store the water south of the border to prevent flooding north.

Storing a through waterway brings its own set of problems. These are scary times.

That's an absolute no-no YJ as the potential doesn't parallel the agenda of the local greenie groups..... What's worse, if someone made a profit at it, why the hue and cry would ring out about the entitlements that have been denied.

The Alberta Government has given Oil Companies and Tar Sands companies water allotments far greater than their needs. Under the Conservative plan this surplus is up for sale, not given as is evidenced by the recent towns paying a million plus for water allotment bought from insiders and oil companies.

Alberta has more water in underground aquifers (our ground water) and much of it is being held by private industry awaiting a chance to export it.

People all over the world are fighting to keep their ground water but not in Alberta and not under Conservatives. It is all for sale.

If the US wants fresh water so badly they can always extract it from the ocean. Not that difficult to do. Then again a dry period or two might teach them a lesson about conservation.

Nuclear extraction of drinking water from the ocean is being practiced in California and it is hugely expensive. That is what makes Alberta's water such a temptation to export into California. The promise of big profit but, under existing deals we have to pay the same as we are charging for export.

 

[captain morgan]

Yup! Money, money, money! Who cares if our grand kids don't have any to drink? As long as a few can profit in the present on a resource that is everybody's inheritance. Greed is destroying the human race. Are you one of the reptilians, there captain?

Yeah, that's it.. Water that is "sold" is only useable once.... It's somehow outside the macro hydrological cycle.

On that note, how do you feel about the prevailing winds that blow the rain clouds South of the Canadian border?.. All of that precipitation that is being stolen from your grandkids!

 

[gerryh]

well, it appears that those on the right hand side of the political spectrum, YukonJack in particular, don't feel that there is any kind of a water shortage North or South of the Canada/u.s. border. That being the case, then there is no need to export water to the u.s. from Canada, this whole discussion is moot and our government can just ban the export of fresh water as it is not needed and the legislation will not really effect anyone.

 

[YukonJack]

I remember the 1970's when a fear-monger de jour (Paul Erlich??) declared that the world will be starving due to food shortage. Then the next fear-monger (maybe it was the same idiot) who declared that in a few months/years no thermal underwear will save the world, due to global cooling and the next Ice Age.

Currently, global warming and water shortage puts the fear in the hearts of those easily frightened.

It has always been and always will be so.

 

[GreenFish66]

Solution ...Desalinate the Oceans , I say! .....No need to export all our Aqua-Gold ....Let's invest $$ into Desalination /Clean Tech .... Sell it to the thirsty nations.......

 

[YukonJack]

Solution ...Desalinate the Oceans , I say! .....No need to export all our Aqua-Gold ....Let's invest $$ into Desalination /Clean Tech .... Sell it to the thirsty nations.......

But, but,but, but, it takes ENERGY to do so and it harms Mother Gaia!!!!

Shame on you for even thinking of something horrible as that!!!

 

[taxslave]

Desalination could be powered by solar/wind if the desire was there. Probably cheaper and certainly cleaner/ safer than nuclear.

 

[cyberclark]

Desalination could be powered by solar/wind if the desire was there. Probably cheaper and certainly cleaner/ safer than nuclear.

Perhaps, if you were in a boat with a tarp. On the scale of a city or cities it simply cannot be done with today's technology. It takes energy in proportion to the amount needed. This puts us in the realm of nuclear; nothing else.

 

[taxslave]

Perhaps, if you were in a boat with a tarp. On the scale of a city or cities it simply cannot be done with today's technology. It takes energy in proportion to the amount needed. This puts us in the realm of nuclear; nothing else.

You need to read more about desalination.

 

[Cliffy]

Don't you mean "nucular"? Hell. We've FUBARed the planet with our greed, why not sell off all our water and make some cash while we can still breath?