2011-04-01 You can see why we don’t have a National Water Policy. There’s too much money to be made if it can be privatized (like oil and gas).

The political system is an adversarial one.  You can’t find solutions if you are working against each other.   

Nor will there ever be solutions if the Government is working toward putting the gift of water into corporate hands, the same as has been done with oil and gas, our energy supply.

The Green Party is searching for the Common Ground. 

So, for example on the topic of water, I am asking the other candidates:  can we agree that Canada needs a National Water Policy?   This is a very serious matter for people in Saskatchewan.  

(Town of Biggar, not in my Electoral District – – I believe that the pipeline from the South Sask River was built to take water to Biggar.   I phoned the Biggar Town Ofc to confirm, but it closed at 4:00.  306-948-3317    In my ED, Humboldt people need to be drawn into awareness of the precariousness of their water supply (South Sask River) – – many of them don’t know that their water comes from the River.  And the seriousness of what the Wall Govt is now doing by aggressive expansion of the withdrawls of water from the River.)

The South Sask River is the MOST ENDANGERED RIVER in all of Canada.  If you are a kayaker you will know that the River is wide but shallow.  

• Please  see 2010-10-20  South Sask River, the scientific reports. ILO’s will run the River dry in the name of “open for business”.  
• Or, for more comprehensive information that includes the situation with the Colorado River,  under “Categories” in the right-hand side bar, click on “water”. 

The amount of water in the River was at 20% of the 1912 volume just a few years ago.  It is now down to 16% of the 1912 volume.  

There is a clear, steady, downward trendline that ends at zero.  It’s obvious:  we should be doing everything in our power to stabilize the volumes of water in the River.   It is not necessary to repeat what the Americans are doing to the Colorado River! 

What industries do we need to develop?  ONES THAT ARE NOT WATER INTENSIVE.  If we add high-volume water users to the River, we are going to end up fighting over who gets the water.  Usually, it’s the guys with the most money who win, in that scenario.   There is litigation over water rights on every river in the U.S. and a national association of lawyers that do nothing but litigation over water rights.  Can we not take common sense action and avoid tensions?

Canada does not have a National Water Policy.   We need to stop the downward trend-line in the volume of water in the South Sask River.   The science is clear:  we are running the River out of water.   The Provincial Government is adding more water intensive industries to accelerate the process.  (The first of a number of intensive livestock operations in the Outlook area is to have 36,000 cattle alone.) 

If the political parties can establish Common Ground, we can work together.   Can we agree that Canada is in need of a National Water Policy?   If the answer is “yes”, then we can move forward to actually getting one.