Governing Canada's Freshwater Resources: Weaknesses, Challenges, Innovations.

Bakker, K (ed). 2007. Vancouver, BC: UBC Press, 440 pages, ISBN 13: 978-0-7748-1339-6. pb $29.95

Bakker, and 27 contributing authors, explore five themes in Eau Canada: water governance; transboundary water management; water privatization; pathways to better water management; and changing water world views. This book is non-technical and of interest to a broad spectrum of readers who share a common concern about contemporary issues in freshwater management and governance. In particular, Eau Canada underscores the unsustainable nature of Canada's existing water policies in an attempt to spark new dialogue between academics, politicians, and the public.

The essays in Part I: Muddy Waters: How Well Are We Governing Canada's Waters? dispel the myth of water abundance that perpetuates Canadians' "flush and forget" mentality. Canada's portion of the world's renewable water supply is approximately 6.5%, while the portion available to the populated southern border of the country is just 2.6%. To some, these figures might suggest a legacy of careful management of a valuable resource. However, as the book points out, this is simply not the case. Part I paints a troublesome picture of historically reactive and centralized water management policy in Canada; a glaring lack of knowledge and regulation regarding groundwater resources; and a general retreat by the federal government in managing water resources (including reluctance to strengthen national policies or intervene in inter-provincial and international water issues). Two relatively bright spots in Canada's contemporary governance structure that are profiled include the trend toward citizen participation in the management of local resources, and source protection planning in Ontario. The section ends with a photo essay highlighting some of Canadians' top water-related concerns, including: source contamination in human communities; observed deformities of water-dependent wildlife species; and the dumping of raw sewage.

Part II: Whose Water? Jurisdictional Fragmentation and Transboundary Management provides an overview of jurisdictional issues in Canadian water management, attempting to explain why the federal government traditionally defers to the provinces in managing water and how the two levels of government typically interact with each other and the United States regarding transboundary waters. Jurisdictional fragmentation leaves Canada in a weak position regarding water diversion planning and transboundary water management. While international water diversion mega-projects are not currently a subject of popular debate (as they once were in the 1960s), Canada continues to allow the diversion of massive quantities of water within its borders--a practice that could undermine future arguments to prohibit water exports on the basis of environmental concerns. The Canadian federal government is under-resourcing water-related departments at a time when it should be preparing to bargain aggressively with the United States and promote local solutions to American water shortages in order to protect its freshwater resource.

Part III: Blue Gold: Privatization, Water Rights, and Water Markets explores the value of freshwater as a commodity and the involvement of the private sector in water supply. Water provision has evolved from a largely private venture to a largely public venture over the course of Canadian history. ...