Ecojustice Randy Christensen writes that the British Columbia Water Act is “the law that governs who gets to use water, for what, when, where, and who gets the priority when there’s not enough to go around.”
He then warns that, “In late December the B.C. Government posted the ‘proposed framework’ for new water laws that introduces water rights trading (section 5). Troublingly, the strong legal protections for environmental flows have been downgraded to guidelines that merely have to be ‘considered’ when someone wants to take water from a stream (section 1).”
“To understand what the B.C. Government is proposing, think of the current water use system as a bike share. Ultimately it’s a community owned resource that people (or companies) sometimes use for their own private purposes. And, like a bike share, the water use is supposed to be time limited and one is supposed to leave the water so that others can use it in the future. You’re definitely not allowed to take the bike and sell it in the back alley! What the B.C. Government is proposing is that at some point in the near future, everyone who happens to be using a bike now owns the bike (and they didn’t even have to buy it – it’s just a gift from Government). Going forward, anyone who wants to use a bike will have to buy it or rent it from these now new owners. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal for the fortunate few who happen to have water rights – primarily electricity generators (including Independent Power Producers), oil and gas companies, mining companies and agriculture.”
Christensen concludes, “What’s most dangerous about this proposal is that it will privatize water in a way that becomes effectively irreversible. Right now, one gets a ‘licence’ to use water that the Government may alter or revoke without (generally speaking) having to pay compensation. However, once the licence to use a public resource is converted into a tradable economic right, that is held and may be sold, any changes to the system that affect that right will undoubtedly spur lawsuits against the government. If this proposal goes forward, you can pretty much write off any chance of ever meaningfully recognizing a human right to water or a public trust over water.”
“This will all become (law) in mid-February, unless the public convinces the BC Government not to pursue this misguided course of action.”
KeremeosReview.com adds that, “Environment Minister Murray Coell is inviting British Columbians to be part of the conversation on a proposed new Water Sustainability Act during the next phase of Water Act modernization. …The Living Water Smart blog (http://blog.gov.bc.ca/livingwatersmart/) will be the focus of this phase of engagement on the proposed act. During the next five weeks, the Ministry of Environment encourages British Columbians to get involved on the blog, where there will be a number of successive posts about the proposed new act. Participants can submit comments on the blog, as well as pose and rank questions that are most important to them and their communities.”
“To view the Policy Proposal on British Columbia’s New Water Sustainability Act, please visit: http://www.livingwatersmart.ca/water-act/docs/wam_wsa-policy-proposal.pdf.”
The commentary by Randy Christensen can be read at http://www.vancouverobserver.com/blogs/water/2011/01/26/bc%E2%80%99s-water-be-sold-highest-bidder. The KeremeosReview.com article is at http://www.bclocalnews.com/okanagan_similkameen/keremeosreview/news/114609419.html.
Thank you to Council of Canadians Mid Island chapter activist Paul Manly for bringing this to our attention.
