[nancymarie]

Ontario says no to Great Lakes water plan <br />Last Updated Mon, 15 Nov 2004 15:42:23 EST <br /> <br />TORONTO - Ontario will not ratify an international agreement governing how much water can be diverted from the Great Lakes unless better protections are put in place, the province's Natural Resources minister said Monday. <br /> <br />David Ramsay said the province is not prepared to ratify the agreement in its current form, in part because the protections it contains are not as strong as Ontario's laws, which prohibit water transfers out of the province's three major water basins. <br /> <br />"Ontarians, and the McGuinty government, clearly want a 'no diversions' agreement or the position of 'no net loss'," Ramsay said in a statement. <br /> <br />The proposed pact between Ontario, Quebec and eight U.S. states would allow American jurisdictions to use water from the five Great Lakes as long as it's cleaned and returned to the system. <br /> <br />It would also prevent any large-scale movement of water out of the lakes by requiring the unanimous consent of all the states and provinces. <br /> <br />Ramsay said the province made its decision after meeting with the various groups, including native peoples, farmers and the public. <br /> <br />Ramsay said the U.S. states adjacent to the Great Lakes share many of the province's interests. But he said Ontario is "concerned that other U.S. states may have an interest in accessing Great Lakes waters that will conflict with our desire to prevent diversions from the basin." <br /> <br />He said Ontario will consider its position carefully before resuming negotiations in January. <br /> <br />http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2004/11/15/lakes041115.html

[Brent Swain]

I once met a guy who said " Why shouldn't we sell water to the US?" I asked him "Do you like to hunt, fish , hike and camp?"<br /> He said "Yes". I asked him how it would feel if he went to his favourute spots and found an armed guard around it with a chain link fence and a sign saying " Keep out, US water supply". At first they would hire local security companies , complain that they weren't adequate, then send in US military to keep Canadians off huge tracts of Canadian public land , all in the name of US national security. We Canadians would find large areas of formerly accessible recreational land fenced off behind US soldiers ,complete with machine guns and big chips on their shoulders , keeping Canadians from our own land.<br /> Selling water and allowing the US to become dependent on water from Canada is the first step onto this slippery slope. Its a problem that is far easier to nip in the bud ,before it grows.<br /> Brent

[Brent Swain]

The outer coasts of Washington and Oregon have extremely heavy rainfall.Capturing and pipeing it to California would solve most of their water shortages, within their own territory, and give them a much more secure supply.<br /> Brent Swain