Water resource planning in Canada

Excerpt

DURING the three years I was Canada's minister of the environment, 1985–1988, one of my priorities was the formulation of a federal water policy. That was a back-breaking task, involving months of consultations both within the federal government and between the federal government and the provinces and other interested parties. The policy was based on the findings of a major national water study conducted by the Pearse Commission, which had been set up by the previous government but which released its report only a few days after my own appointment to the environment Dortfolio. The Pearse Commission addressed a wide range of water issues facing the country, many of which emerged as hot political potatoes in my time in the portfolio.

Whether the concern was flooding, drought, contamination, security of supply, water exports, or whatever, the simple, five letter word “water” seemed to dominate my agenda. Indeed, at one point in the Canada United States free trade debate (the central issue in the last national election in Canada), the question of Canadian water exports to the United States became the main battle ground for all three major political parties in the country.

Canada's environment minister is responsible for a vast array of issues and programs, not only pollution control measures, but also the country's huge national park system and even its built-heritage policies. Among the …