By Patrick Forest
The entry into force of the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement in 1989 and the North American Free Trade Association (NAFTA) in 1994 reignited a decades-old debate: should Canada allow bulk water exports across its borders? This question has been (and continues to be) the subject of intense debate within Canada. At the societal level, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have actively debated and challenged the legal positions of the provincial and federal governments. At the academic level, researchers have published a voluminous literature on the commodification of water, its legal status, the impacts of a precedent, and the capacity of Canada to restrict water exports within the context of NAFTA. Under pressure from their constituents, decision-makers have adopted a series of heterogenous laws and agreements in response to the various challenges as outlined in the academic literature.
