Water Allocation – The Selling of Water
Ms Blakeman:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Alberta’s water market is about to get a whole lot bigger. Right now water is free for existing licence holders, but they can and have sold some of that water back to municipalities and to the province for huge profits. Instead of fixing this system, the government is making it easier and cheaper to sell water rights by weakening environmental regulations.
My questions are to the Minister of Environment. Why is the minister willing to spend vast amounts of taxpayer money to expand certain people’s ability to sell water?
Mr. Renner:
Mr. Speaker, I take exception to the preamble that the member brought forward when she suggests that we’re weakening the water regulatory system. I might suggest to her that it’s quite the opposite. We are in fact strengthening the system. We recognize that we have a finite resource called water, and we have growth pressures from population, from economic development. Somehow we need to balance the two. We need to ensure that those users that have water are incented to conserve that water and share that water with those users that potentially don’t have water. That’s what it’s all about.
Ms Blakeman:
There’s a better solution than water markets. Given that the senior water licence holders have first dibs on water and that the licences for environmental protection are considered junior, or back of the line, what or who will protect the environment when the rivers are at their lowest levels?
Mr. Renner:
Mr. Speaker, I believe that that responsibility falls to me, and I don’t say so lightly. That’s a job that we have to take seriously. In the reports that we tabled yesterday, all of the groups that have provided recommendations to us have made it clear that the number one priority needs to be a process that has a conservation set-aside that ensures that we have sufficient water in the system to have a healthy aquatic ecosystem. That’s job number one.
The Speaker:The hon. member.
Ms Blakeman:
Thanks very much, Mr. Speaker. Back to the same minister: given that watering lawns has the same priority under this system as basic human needs, drinking water, and the protection of the ecosystem, why won’t the minister fulfill his mandate as an Environment minister and protect Alberta’s water? Shut down the water market and overhaul the system.
Mr. Renner:
Mr. Speaker, the member has just made an outstanding argument as to why it’s necessary for us to establish a value for water. Clearly, watering lawns should be a conscious decision that someone makes: “Is this the priority? Is this the highest value for this water?” Frankly, today there are no incentives whatsoever for anyone to conserve water, nor are there any disincentives whatsoever for those who choose to waste water.
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