Canadian Charter of Water Rights and Responsibilities

We the undersigned recognize that water is fundamental to life. Without it all living things perish, some within a few minutes, most within a few days. We understand the essential role of water to life, to the ecosystem around us, and ultimately to our own well-being. We have a reverence for life, and a reverence for water.

We value not only our own well-being, but the well-being of our children, our children's children, and indeed the well-being of all future generations. We recognize that we need to act responsibly and to preserve the ecosystem for sustainable, reasonable living standards for ourselves as well as future generations. We also realize that all living organisms depend on water. The protection of water is a keystone in the preservation of the natural ecosystem in which we all live.

We believe in social justice. We support the collective provision of community services such as potable water for our own homes as well as all others. We do not believe any Canadian should be deprived of an essential resource to life such as water.

We recognize that we cannot just assume that all is well in our immediate and surrounding natural environment. We know that it is important to test, to review, and to set standards and expectations. We especially value openness and truth in this process. We will not tolerate interference in the search for this knowledge and understanding. We value science as an important means to this knowledge, but recognize that the founders of North American society, the Aboriginal peoples of Canada, have an intimate relationship with the environment that can be an essential source of wisdom in our care for water.

We recognize the importance of articulating these values in terms of guiding principles. The Articles of the Canadian charter of water rights and responsibilities, proposed by the participants of the 2010 Freshwater Summit held in Bracebridge on June 1 and 2, 2010, are a statement of the principles that we accept as our guide.

Articles

Article 1.    The ecosystem is the primary 'user' of water.

Natural ecosystems are home to a vast array of life, all of which is dependent on water. These ecosystems and the biodiversity they contain provide services such as purification of air and water, and maintenance of a livable climate. Without those services all life would perish.

Most freshwater must stay within natural ecosystems and its quality must not be degraded. Human use of water must be carefully balanced with the need for ecosystem health. This balance must be expressed through nation-wide, but regionally sensitive standards for water quality and use.

Article 1 must be considered in the application of all other Articles.

Article 2.    Water is a public trust, and the distribution of water for consumptive use must be done for the equal benefit and well-being of all Canadians.

Most Canadians obtain their water for domestic, residential consumption from publicly owned, municipal water treatment plants. This Article is intended to prevent private, profit-seeking organizations from controlling the allocation and distribution of water through ownership of municipal treatment plants and distribution systems. It is also intended to prohibit international trade of Canadian water, as well as the treatment of Canadian water as a commodity in international trade agreements.

Article 2 is not intended to constrain non-consumptive use of water in processes such as run-of-the-river hydroelectric power generation. It is also not intended to prevent public authorities from hiring private companies to operate water treatment and distribution systems on their behalf, so long as the capital works and authority for pricing, allocation, and distribution remains solely in the hands of the public authorities or their wholly owned agencies.

The allocation and distribution of water for domestic use, agriculture, industry, etc. will require especially careful analysis and debate.

Article 3.    All Canadians have both a right to sufficient potable water for their basic needs and a shared responsibility to ensure that all Canadians have ready access to potable water.

Every Canadian should have ready access to potable water for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene regardless of their economic and social condition. This does not mean that public providers of water cannot charge for water service to cover the cost of treatment, distribution, and capital works. However, inability to pay because of financial circumstances must not be grounds for withholding water service.

The term 'shared responsibility' ensures that Canadians help Canadians in the provision of potable water. This social commitment means that public funds would be used to supply technical expertise and construct municipal treatment plants and distribution systems. Small, remote communities, especially Aboriginal communities, are most likely to be affected by this Article.

Article 4.    All Canadians have a responsibility to future generations to conserve freshwater and to prevent or reverse the degradation of water resources.

The commonly held notion that Canada has an unlimited supply of clean freshwater is a myth. The quantity and quality of freshwater is adversely affected by multiple threats, including climate change and unsustainable extraction. The intent of this Article is to ensure that Canadian water resources, both surface and groundwater, are not polluted, degraded or consumed in an unsustainable fashion.

Article 5.    All Canadians have an ongoing responsibility to monitor the state of freshwater using scientifically validated procedures.

Changes in water quality and quantity due to either broad-scale stresses (e.g., climate change, long-range transport of contaminants) or direct use (e.g., industrial, agricultural, resource extraction) must be detected as soon as reasonably possible through regular, systematic monitoring. Early detection is essential for timely corrective or adaptive action, and for verifying that the expectations of Article 4 are met.

There is widespread concern among aquatic scientists that the current amount of water monitoring in Canada is inadequate. While there are some localized examples of high-quality long-term monitoring, on a national scale there appear to be few data on which to assess broad-scale, long-term trends. Monitoring must be done in a scientifically valid manner and supported with long-term, stable funding to maintain consistency in the quantity and quality of the data.

Article 6.    Monitoring data must be analyzed, interpreted and reported in a timely fashion without interference from special interest groups, or shifting political ideologies.

Monitoring of water resources must be done for the benefit of society and the ecosystem as a whole. The analysis and interpretation must be scientifically objective and must not be influenced by special interest groups, private or public. Reporting must be regular and free from political interference.

A public, arms-length monitoring agency is necessary to ensure the intent of Article 6.

Article 7.    Traditional knowledge acquired from cultural traditions, resource management practices and oral histories of Aboriginal peoples of Canada must be considered an integral part of water policy development.

Aboriginal peoples have been observing and learning about water and ecological change for generations. Wisdom about water is woven into their traditions, and water and the connected environment play an important spiritual role in indigenous cultures. The contributions from traditional environmental knowledge, such as areas of particular sensitivity to water use activities, should be respected and recognized.

Glossary

Consumptive use is sometimes used to describe withdrawals of water (e.g., for irrigation) which lead to a loss from the local hydrological system because of evaporation or evapotranspiration. This application of this terminology is not always clear cut; water for domestic, residential use may be 'consumed' both for watering lawns as well as for drinking, cooking, bathing, etc. The latter might be considered non-consumptive because most of it may be returned (as treated sewage effluent) to the system from which it was withdrawn, albeit in a degraded form. Despite this limitation, it is sometimes important to distinguish brief withdrawals (e.g., for hydroelectric generation) from withdrawals that lead to loss or degradation of water from a system. The impact of these types of withdrawals may be quite different. The charter will use the term 'consumptive use' to mean withdrawals that lead to loss or degradation of water.

Ecosystem is all the organisms in a given area, along with the nonliving (abiotic) factors with which they interact; a biological community and its physical environment.

Public trust is a trust created for the promotion of public welfare and not for the benefit of one or more individuals.

Potable water is a general term for drinking water. It is water that is safe for all uses, including drinking, cooking, bathing.

Run-of-the-river hydroelectricity is a type of hydroelectric generation whereby the natural flow and elevation drop of a river are used to generate electricity.

Thank you for giving this important issue careful consideration.