What readers think - Letter to the editor

The Globe and Mail - Thursday, March 24, 2011

It is encouraging to read that my former boss, Jean Chrétien, thinks it is finally time for a debate on a national water strategy. It is discouraging, however, that his remarks lead quite naturally to a valid assumption that water is a commodity.

To date, in spite of valiant efforts by many individuals, water has not yet been defined in Canadian law or lexicon. We don’t know if our water is considered as a commodity, as a human right or alternatively as a common/public trust. I would submit that the “sharing” of this precious resource under certain conditions to needy countries would be something many Canadians would consider, however, the trading of water as a commodity would not.

But first, we need to define this natural resource. Let’s have the national debate while an election seems imminent.

Penny Collenette, Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa

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