Communities, environmentalists and local governments pondering the issue of water service fees in an era of severe budget cuts have a new tool at their disposal. A new discussion paper by Council of Canadians Chairperson, Maude Barlow titled “Paying for water in Canada in a time of austerity and privatization” argues that market-oriented pricing is not the way to conserve Canada’s water or address the municipal infrastructure gap.
Barlow argues that the focus on household use is “a distraction from the real use and abuse of water” and points out that “even high rates for residential users will not cover the cost of water damage done by industrial agriculture, energy and mining, and manufacturing. Joining the call for higher service charges for urban and residential water use alone is really avoiding the real issue and will not protect endangered water systems in Canada.”
“Clearly, targeting residential users to pay for our heavy water footprint in this country is a misplaced strategy in fighting water abuse. Any strategy that ignores 90 per cent of the problem is inherently flawed.” She concludes that progressive taxation is the fairest way to pay for water but recognizing the need for underfunded municipalities to levy services charges, she lays out a clear set of guidelines to ensure respect of the right to water and the principle of water as a commons.
