Water Watcher to share warning on worst fears
By Bruce Mason, Gabriola Sounder
Tuesday, April 18 2006
You've probably thought about it, certainly heard it and most likely said it yourself: "Just wait, the US is going to need Canada's water; if you think oil is a problem, water is going to be more precious, just wait; they want it and they're going to try and get it, you just wait and see."
The waiting is over, warns Gabriola resident Leslie Dickout, who knows the chilling reality of what is happening right on our doorstep, first-hand.
As coordinator of CUPE's Island Water Watch Campaign since last September, Leslie will speak at the Ratepayers meeting, Monday, April 24th, a meeting that will interest anyone who is concerned about control of the resource that sustains life on this planet.
"Water privatization has failed a long list of communities around the world, but corporations have already gained a foothold in Sooke, Langford and Port Hardy," she told the Sounder in an interview. "And private companies are actively seeking to expand operations in water resources all over Vancouver Island."
"Poorly funded and under-resourced public water and wastewater systems are in danger of failing communities," she added. "The systems that treat and deliver our water are under a very real and serious threat."
Why is the Canadian Union of Public Employees - the largest union in the country - involved?
"For some time, CUPE members who work in public water utilities have expressed concerns that corporate reps have been wining and dining Chief Administrative Officers, politicians and local government staff as well as touring facilities," Leslie explained.
As a result, in an unprecedented initiative, local CUPE officials set up the member-funded Island Water Watch Campaign, as the eyes and ears for clean, safe, public water on Vancouver and the Gulf Islands.
Tight budgets and reduced transfer payments are forcing local politicians to look for alternatives to borrowing money at low interest rates to fund water services, debt that shows up in yearly financial statements.
In Moncton, Hamilton, Halifax, Vancouver, Nanaimo, and other cities and regions, local governments have gone part way down the P3 (private, public partnership) road before turning back from disasters, including: secrecy, and information not required to be publicly available, higher costs fired by profits, increased interest and consultant's fees, loss of control, poorer quality services through contracting out and high staff turnover, and trade rules, like NAFTA, which empowers companies to sue governments over public policy that restricts business and profits.
Indeed, many Canadians worry that water is included in NAFTA.
While some provinces, including BC, have banned the bulk export of water, some haven't and as the federal government shirks its responsibility, a patchwork of legislation leaves Canada's waters unprotected.
In the meantime, a California company, Sun Belt, is claiming $10 billion in compensation for lost profits because BC banned water exports several years ago.
"Water multinationals such as Terasen (formerly BC Gas, recently sold to Texas-based Kinder Morgan, which sold its water and wastewater assets to CAI Capital Group) and Edmonton-based EPCOR are eager to seize the moment, taking over ownership and control of community water supplies," Dickout reported. "When this takes place, corporations sell water for profit, the quality, access and safety of community water supplies are endangered and the future of our water resources is threatened."
P3s enable companies to take charge of delivery, management and operation of water services, putting the fundamental right of Canadians to a precious, life-sustaining resource at grave risk.
In Port Hardy, without a tender process, EPCOR landed a 20-year P3 for a water treatment plant and a five-year contract for a wastewater and sewage system.
In Sooke, EPCOR has a sewage system contract that will cost each household $495 for construction and operation, while the system remains under the corporation's control.
In Langford, a Terasen subsidiary, won a 21-year exclusive monopoly that will impact every sewer connection, a deal that included exemption from local taxes and from BC's government for similar agreements in other communities.
In French Creek, between Parksville and Qualicum, EPCOR bought a privately owned rural water utility within the RDN and - facing ongoing community resistance - tried to sell it back in exchange for long-term contracts to manage 14 rural water utilities. Island Water Watch and a coalition convinced the RDN to stop the negotiations.
Leslie said: "CUPE BC is working jointly with the Council of Canadians, other unions, social and environmental groups, faith communities and concerned citizens across Vancouver Island to not only defend water as public trust, but also to improve water systems that we all count on."
In the meantime, reports of considerations of privatization are surfacing in the Comox Valley, Lake Cowichan, Colwood, Highlands, Powell River, and other areas throughout our region and across the country.
Leslie Dickout will speak, answer questions and address concerns, at a joint meeting of The Gabriola Groundwater Management Society and the Gabriola Ratepayers and Residents Association, Monday, April 24th at the W.I. Hall, at 7 pm.
For more information on water privatization, go to: www.keepwaterpublic.ca, or call Leslie, (250) 616-2156.
As well, at the meeting, a salt water demonstration will show how we manage to get fresh water from under sea level, and how that can go drastically wrong.
If you can't get to the meeting, E-mail your concerns to GabriolaRatepayers@shaw.ca, to be included in the meeting and its minutes.
The Sounder will have a complete report, in our first issue in May.
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