2006-11-28 Water is the new oil, says CIBC. I called CEO Brain Shaw. You, too? CPPIB launched bid for British water utility. P3’s.

Welcome to newcomers!

CONTENTS

(1)  BACKGROUND FOR NEWCOMERS

(2)  WATER IS THE NEW OIL, SAYS CIBC

(3)  CANADA PENSION PLAN (CPP) LAUNCHED BID FOR BRITISH WATER UTILITY

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(1)  BACKGROUND FOR NEWCOMERS

The origin of our network is in water, 6 or 7 years ago.  We continue to fight to keep water in the public domain, free of corporate interests.  We battle to force the Governments to perform their role which is to protect the water supply.  The water supply is part of “the commons” – that upon which we are all dependent for our health and survival.  Individuals and corporations do not have “stakeholder rights” to water.  Every one of us has a responsibility to ensure that local water supplies are ensured for future use.  I believe we each need to understand the sacred nature of water, to be in reverence because of our vulnerability and complete dependence on water.

Our children need to know.

The wisdom of democratic functioning, passed down to us through centuries, is the need to separate functions in the society so they are independent of each other.  The “separation of powers” in a democracy – essential to prevent a concentration of power in the hands of a few, which opens the wealth (human and natural resources) of the democracy up to unfettered manipulation and exploitation by the few.  At which point you no longer have a democracy.

Through a series of “failures” we are conditioned to sever the link between wisdom and behaviour.

–  It is the role of the educational system to equip Canadians with a basic understanding of “civics”, with the ability to think critically, and the ability to engage in public debate.

Public-private-partnerships (P3’s) are the complete opposite of the necessary separation of powers in a society.  Since 1982 when Federal Finance Minister Michael Wilson (Mulroney administration) first promoted P3’s, the Governments have gone unchallenged in their implementation of them.  The existence of P3’s, an anathema to democratic functioning is an indictment of the educational system.  Only an ignorant and disempowered citizenry would put up with corporate interests in bed with Government.

Public-Private-Partnerships are contrary to the political science of democratic governance.  Where is our outrage?

The fastest and easiest way to move water out of the protected “commons”, beyond democratic control, is through deals between “Big Government” and “Big Business” – public-private-partnerships.

–  The failure after education and our individual responsibility to the Canadian democracy is the media.  Read the article below about the CIBC World Markets Inc.’s response to water.  It is a repeat of the way in which Federal, Provincial and Univeristy Departments of Agriculture were handed over to Monsanto, along with public funds to further their agenda (GMO’s, ownership of seeds).  The pattern is this:

• cry “poor boy”.  The Government can’t afford whatever it is.
• create fear. Dead people (Walkerton).  B.C.’s water advisories.
• offer up the “inevitable” solution:  bring in the large corporations.

WHEN will we stand up?

I am grateful to Susan Howatt from the Council of Canadians for keeping us informed, and for organizing protest.  If we all pitch in, both by sending our own letters and by passing the word along, we can bring an end to the skulduggery.  Letters to the Editor are important, along with communications to Government personnel.  Including Canada Pension Plan.  CIBC World Markets Inc. is a player.  Check your pension plans and investments:  put an end to relationships with the CIBC and let them know why.

The Executive of CIBC World Markets is listed at:  http://www.cibcwm.com/wm/company-information/executive-bios.html

Brian Shaw is the CEO.  I telephoned the Toronto switchboard 416-594-7000 and asked to be put through to Brian’s receptionist.  His Exec Asst answered;  I asked if Brian was in.  Yes, but he was on a conference call.  I left a message and my phone number.  I told his Exec Asst that the water networks in Canada are very large.  And that we pay attention to what is happening in relation to water.  Corporate belief that water is a resource to be exploited is repugnant.  The use of fear-mongering in the manipulation of public debate is also repugnant.  I will be checking out mutual funds, etc. in which family money is invested.  And withdrawing from any investments and banking associated with the CIBC.

I’ll let you know if I receive the call-back promised by Brian’s Exec-Asst!

I am hoping that more people will make similar phone calls.  Also, you can send emails to CIBC World Markets from the “Contact Us” part of their web-site:   http://www.cibcwm.com/wm/company-information/contact-us.html

See below for more efforts.  All the angles should be covered.

Have fun, and Cheers!

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(2)  WATER IS THE NEW OIL, SAYS CIBC

Hello all, (Susan Howatt, Council of Canadians writing)

CIBC has weighed in on the privatization of water and the role private sector should play in infrastructure.  It is a chilling read and underscores the need for the federal government to endorse the right to water, provide a sustainable investment package for municipalities and close the door forever to the notion that water belongs to those that can pay for it.

The article from today’s Globe and Mail is pasted below, but I also recommend having your voices heard by writing a letter to the editor Letters to The Editor(Letters  AT  globeandmail.com) or in the on-line forum here:

(web address no longer valid)

This is especially chilling given the recently announced “Advantage Canada” plan by federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty that, among other things, strongly encourages pension funds to support P3 infrastructure projects in Canada.  As reported by the Canadian Press, “The Advantage Canada plan…included a pledge to give maximum impact to government spending through public-private partnerships. These so-called P3s “will also provide opportunities for Canadian pension funds and other investors to participate in infrastructure projects here in Canada rather than being forced to look abroad, as is often the case now,” according to the finance ministry.”

Best,

Susan

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Water is the new oil, says CIBC

ROMA LUCIW

Globe and Mail Update

The colossal cost of fixing crumbling water infrastructure in the developed world has opened the door to government privatization.

Water delivery systems in the industrial world are in “dire need” of repair, says a report released Monday by CIBC World Markets Inc. At least one-fifth of America’s municipal wastewater treatment facilities do not comply with federal regulations and in some U.S. cities, more than half of the water headed to consumers is lost along the way.

CIBC economist Benjamin Tal, author of the “Tapping into Water” report, estimates it will take “hundreds of billions of dollars” to fix dated water infrastructure in North America and Europe.

Federal governments are not rushing to fix the infrastructure and municipalities lack the means to do so. “As a result, governments are now much more open to the notion of privatizing their water infrastructure which, in turn, is providing a substantial boost to the private water industry,” Mr. Tal said.

“What we are witnessing here is a trend that is profoundly modifying water as an investment theme throughout the world.”

Canada has one of the world’s largest supplies of fresh water, but has its own water woes. Some British Columbia residents remain under a boil-water advisory that first came into effect Nov. 16 when heavy rainfall triggered mudslides and caused runoff into the Vancouver region’s reservoirs. There are fears that the water is contaminated with E. coli, the bacteria that killed seven people in Walkerton, Ont., six years ago. The bacteria entered the town’s water supply from farm runoff, and residents had to boil or buy their water for seven months after that supply was tainted.

Meanwhile, the business of water is booming.

Mr. Tal sees parallels between today’s water industry and the oil industry in its golden era, before and after the Second World War. “The market is paying attention,” he said. “Capital investment, deregulation, consolidation, and privatization of global water assets and services are advancing at a pace not seen before.”

In the last three years, U.S.-based water companies — as measured by the Bloomberg U.S. water index — have surged 150 per cent, three times the rise seen by companies on the S&P 500, while paying twice as much in dividends.

International water players are doing even better, Mr. Tal said, with their stock values rising twice as fast as their American counterparts in the past year alone.

Water is an attractive investment because it is much less volatile than industries driven by economic cycles, Mr. Tal said. Companies that specialize in “water solutions” can range from pumps, pipes and valves, wastewater treatment, to quality testing. European companies account for half of the global water players, while American companies make up 36 per cent.

In Canada, there are few ways for investors to directly invest in H2O.

However, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board recently launched a bid for a British water utility.

In order to attract private sector investment in water, municipalities are allowing the price of water to rise to levels that resemble full recovery costs. “Water prices in many industrialized countries are now rising much faster than inflation, and this trend will only accelerate in the coming years,” Mr. Tal said.

World Bank estimates suggest that outsourcing and privatization in the water sector are set to double in the coming five years to reach a near 40 per cent share of the market.

“If crumbling water infrastructures in North America and Europe provide the private water industry with great opportunities, the potential in the developing world is even greater,” Mr. Tal said.

The water investment theme is being supported by rising demand for clean drinking water. Global water demand is doubling every twenty years and water utilization rates have doubled in the past 45 years. The populations and economies of Asian powerhouses China and India are expanding and the countries are not only consuming more water, they are highly inefficient in their use.

Still, the CIBC report stressed that the world is not running out of water.

The problem is that the global water supply is unevenly distributed with nine countries possessing 60 per cent of the world’s available freshwater supply.

“As is the case with any other resources on earth, the main story lies in the developing economies, where water shortage will only worsen in the coming years due to rapid population growth, urbanization, climate change, and the fact that globalization is highly water intensive,” Mr. Tal said.

Susan Howatt,  National Water Campaigner, Council of Canadians

www.canadians.org

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(3)  CANADA PENSION PLAN (CPP) LAUNCHED BID FOR BRITISH WATER UTILITY

Dear water activists,

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) will be holding its first set of public hearings this year since it announced its intention in October 2006 to purchase the British for-profit water company AWG Plc, also known as Anglian Water.

These public meetings will be held:

• WINNIPEG, MANITOBA: Wednesday November 22, Fort Gary Hotel, Gateway Room, 222 Broadway 5:00 – 6:30 p.m.
• LONDON, ONTARIO: Monday December 18, Four Points Hotel, Room London B,  150 Wellington Road South, 5:00 to 6:30 p.m.If you live in the vicinity of London or Winnipeg, this is a terrific opportunity to voice your opposition to the CPPIB’s $1.05 billion bid for Anglian Water. If you do not live near these cities, but would like to voice your concern, please do send a message to the CPPIB’s manager of communications John Cappelletti at jcappelletti  AT  cppib.ca:

Below are some talking points that you are welcome to use to prepare for the public hearings, a letter to the editor or in a letter to John Cappelletti at the Canada Pension Plan.

Best,

Susan

Susan Howatt

National Water Campaigner, Council of Canadians

1-800-387-7177 or 613-233-4487 ext. 239;  613-761-2482 (mobile)

www.canadians.org

1.  The Canada Pension Plan is investing in for-profit water. The CPP Investment Board teamed up with a consortium in a $4.1-billion (U.S.) offer to buy AWG PLC (Anglian Water), one of Britain’s largest private water companies. The fund’s $1.05-billion (Canadian) share of the bid would mark its first water investment.

2. 16 million Canadians contribute to or benefit from the PP. All Canadian workers residing outside of Quebec contribute 4.95 per cent f their earnings to the Canada Pension Plan.

3. Canadians are opposed to for-profit water. A 2005 poll ommissioned in British Columbia by the Canadian Union of Public Employees ound 75 per cent of respondents were opposed to privatization of water ervices.

4. Anglian Water is a product of Margaret Thatcher’s rivatization agenda. Anglian Water was one of the British for-profit water ompanies that emerged in 1988 when the Thatcher government transformed its 10 egional water authorities into private profit-making ventures, in what was one f the most massive privatization initiatives in history.

5. Privatization means high prices and corruption. After ritain’s water system was privatized, prices rose by over 50 per cent in the irst four years, with directors’ fees, salaries and bonuses increasing between 0 per cent and 200 per cent in most water companies. he Daily Mail wrote that, “the water industry has become the biggest rip-off in Britain,” and that it is “the greatest act of licensed robbery in our history.”

6. Anglian Water has a bad pollution record. Anglian Water is the only company in the industry to see an increase in major pollution incidents. Since 2004, Anglian Water recorded the second highest number of cases of water pollution in the country. In 2001, Anglian Water was fined for an incident in which 200 tons of sewage spilled into a river in Essex. In 2005, water companies were ranked as the worst polluters in the United Kingdom.

7. Anglian Water cuts off water to families. The water disconnection rate in Britain tripled in the first five years after water services were privatized, with 18,636 households disconnected in 1994.

8. Now even Britain recognizes that for-profit water has failed the poor. On November 9, 2006, the United Kingdom officially recognized the human right to water. International Development Secretary Hilary Benn stated, “In many developing countries, water companies supply the rich with subsidized water but often don’t reach poor people at all.

Recognizing the right to water will help change this and allow all citizens to demand more of their governments.”