The privatization of Canadian water is occurring right under our noses #cdnwater #nlpoli #bcpoli #cdnpoli

In the years leading up to Harper's majority the neo-con boys were busy. They were busy setting up contracts, trade deals, pipelines, transmission systems, water legislation, electorates & premierships.

This has occurred in the jurisdictions where water and electricity resources are available to export to the United States. Mainly NL, Que, BC & AB but that is not to say there hasn't been equal pressure put on other provinces resources and politicians.

In NL, the situation started with a Hydro deal in '98 which allowed the establishment of four private dams. The two dams of concern related to the Canadian water privatization threat are Star Lake and Rattle Brook. There was a public outcry and a halt was ordered to the establishment of private hydro facilities, but the two facilities had already been put in place.  http://www.releases.gov.nl.ca/releases/1998/exec/0831n01.htm

Between '01 & '03 legislation around these two dams was altered, and in between the water act was created replacing a host of outdated legislation. The wording in the new legislation refers to water right & licences as opposed to water leases & permits and this is where the process towards privatizing water, begun in '98 and continued under Danny Williams' administration really starts to accelerate. A similar process of privatization is currently being repeated in the proposed BC water act thanks perhaps to our 'enabling legislation' and the precedent setting case involving Harper and the Abitibi expropriation under NAFTA. In BC, Gwyn Morgan and the Christie Clarke Liberal government are working hard for their corporate friends in regard to water privatization, and what a prize that'll be for the corporate sector if it all goes through.  http://www.watershedsentinel.ca/content/ge-and-privatization-water

The Star Lake facility was expropriated in '09 along with the rest of ABH's assets on the Island by the Williams administration. Around that time EMERA first bought into Algonquin Utilities, which not coincidentally runs the Rattle Brook run of river hydro facility. Local concern went to the people impacted as well as the issues of contamination around the millsite but few picked up on the water issues it raised, except a lawyer representing the Council of Canadians.

Shortly after Williams expropriation of Abitibi (ABH)'s assets on the Island Harper paid out $130 million to ABH for Williams actions and effectively granted private water rights to ABH on the Star Lake facility according to the Council. Up to that point there had only been a permit/lease arrangement, but with newly amended legislation and the NAFTA ruling referring to water 'rights', the Rattle Brook facility may be considered 'private' with a licence and 'water rights' associated with it.

Williams signed the EMERA term sheet a few days before stepping down on Dec. 3, 2010. On Dec. 17 (two weeks to the day after his resignation came into effect) there was a large purchase of shares in EMERA (7.5 million with a value around 1/4 billion), and EMERA bought again into Algonquin. EMERA also received the go ahead on the purchase of Maine & Maritime Corporation (MAM) on the 16th which could have also contributed to the triggering of the large and rather anomalous share purchase http://www.emera.com/en/home/mediacentre/recentnews/2010/newsreleasedetails.aspx?SourceParams=reqid-1508712

The question all this raises....Is EMERA setting up in NL to establish a private water market in preparation for CETA? If the goings on in BC & AB are reflective of what is going on here in NL then the question needs to be asked now rather than later, before the deals are signed and sealed.

So, with the EMERA term sheet set to be signed shortly, is the future of Canadian water hanging in limbo? Lets hope not.

UPDATED
The latest development occurred just a couple days ago on April 10th, 2012 EMERA bought further into Algonquin on the verge of the term sheet being finalized.

AND AGAIN on July 31st 2012 they buy more into Algonquin -> Emera - News Release Details Emera Increases Investment in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp.. This is a key day as it is also the day Emera finalized the deal with NALCOR for the whole deal on the Maritime & Labrador-Island link / Muskrat Falls fiasco Emera Inc. and Nalcor Energy Finalize Agreements for the Development of Muskrat Falls

NO surprise by now but they again bought into Algonquin on Oct. 7th 2014. they just won't stop!!

The Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline Ownership:

• U.S.: LP Enbridge (U.S. Inc). (77.53%); Emera Inc. (12.92%); ExxonMobil Corporation (9.55%)
• Canada: Enbridge Inc. (77.53%); Emera Inc. (12.92%); ExxonMobil Corporation (9.55%)

Additional reading

http://www.algonquinpower.com/financial/reports/annrep99.pdf 10640 NL Ltd was registered in NL & shifted to NS. why is #'d company investing in a dam w ties to water privatization? Dec '98 ALQ acquired via 100% of outstanding shares of 10640 Newfoundland Ltd

Newfoundland cancels court action against AbitibiBowater

No surprise here.

Why would NALCOR want it's dirty laundry hauled through the courts? Not that they don't own the local courts...but still, it would be nice to know what happened to bill 27. That's the bill that would've made ABH go through a year long public process starting in January to get a renewal on their 100 year lease over all those resources NALCOR now has under its thumb (without any court dates or public processes).

Pretty slick, but hopefully not slick enough to keep the corrupt public officials out of the slammer when we get real government accountability around here ( a man should be allowed to dream after all). These paltry indictments for spending allowance no-no's is just a start. Why shouldn't we take it all the way, now that the door is open, and go after those who've sold our resources for backdoor deals and golden handshakes.

What does the rejection of the amended AbitibiBowater deal amount to? Far more than meets the eye.

Above is the tenure breakdown on 2/3's of our Islands forest resource. 1/3 Abitibi Bowater, 1/3 Kruger, and what's left (not shown) is Crown controlled. The brown section is the Chartered land around Red Indian Lake which AB has a 999yr lease on! WHOA EH??!! Who signed that deal?

With the union members at the mill in GFW recently rejecting the amended 'secret' offer to 'restructure' the operation, the rest of us are left wondering...What are they not telling us? Why so secretive? Who's going to benefit off our backs this time? Where are they gonna dump the body (the new 'best deal' they're gonna release to the rest of us one day shortly)?

There are a few key points which aren't being discussed in the mainstream media. The most obvious being the hydro rights associated with their milling operations. Now, there are other issues associated with that hydro power that make it even more of a hot topic amongst those studying the issue of industrial water users on this side of the border, and I may get time to go into those, but for now we'll deal with AbitibiBowater and their current negotiation with our government and the national unions representing the mill employees.

Some of the key points missing from the media debate, which first focused on the 170 jobs and has since moved onto the 1100 jobs that are actually at stake along with the towns only economic engine, are;

1) 999 year lease on District 12, or Red Indian Lake (known as chartered land).
2) Star Lake Hydro (issue includes NAFTA and private power companies owning hydro facilities).
3) NAFTA chapters 6 & 12 coming into play when the power corridor gets put in from Labrador (NL Hydro, Fortis, NL Power, Churchill Falls / Lower Chirchill Development, NL's new power corporation etc. all are part of this picture).
4) Bill 27 (http://www.assembly.nl.ca/business/bills/Bill0227.htm) and its clause whcih forces the company onto an open public debate on their 100 year timber lease over 1/3 of Newfoundland's forest.
5) Where has this company been investing its money? Directly into their power facilites, not into their mill! That should be 'the tell' for everybody on this!
6) The demand for clean water and clean energy in the US. Where are the closest undeveloped resources that can feed this real and increasing demand? Who is in control of their development?
7) Think about the link between security corridors (ie Atlantica), hydro energy, and freshwater.

So...what we need to do is become informed, and demand that our politicians inform us of what really is at stake here.

To talk about 170 jobs alone should be considered a criminal act, and not be tolerated in todays world.