Environmental Water Issues In Canada

To understand the current state of the safe water issue for our First Nation people, it is important to look at some current statistics. The Council of Canadians (2015) reports that “as of January 2015, there have been 169 drinking water advisories in 126 First Nation communities. With Ontario having the highest number 79, followed by British Columbia 35, Saskatchewan 24, Alberta 17, the Atlantic 7 and Quebec 2.” (p. 6) The graphic below helps us see the severity of the issue by showing the drinking water

According to the International Water Management Institute environmental research organisation global water stress is increasing, and a third of all people face some sort of water scarcity. Where demand exceeds supply and no effective management operates, there will be conflicts between the various players involved.

Pollution of Lake Huron has been over the years either through direct point sources or through non-point indirect sources (Saxena 1116). Direct point sources include sewage treatment firms and industries, which direct their wastes directly into Lake Huron and its tributaries. Nonpoint sources indirectly pollute water from the Lake, and majorly caused by man's activities and land policies applied by the man.

Simple everyday things for Canadians to reduce water consumption would to fix leaky faucets, take shorter showers, and turn off the tap when they brush their teeth. Other courses of action for people would be to install toilets that use less water per flush and for the government, they could start to tax people for water usage. Some strategies to farmers would be to use drip irrigation systems, which deliver water directly to the plants roots.

Living Canada, it is hard to believe what it would be like to not have a virtually unlimited supply of freshwater. In places and areas where freshwater is not that easy to get, such as the drought in California that is so highly talked about, as well as places in Africa who wonder if they will have enough fresh water to last the rest of the week. Being a country of high strength in this resource we have to think if we are going to help some to these countries or not. This piece writing will explain what freshwater really is and whether Canada should export our water to the United States of America and why we should not.

Companies have the technology and the knowledge to divert or sell water in a way that is safe on the environment. Part of the Canadian population has been misled to believe that Canada will not have enough water for its residents if it sells water to the United States. This is a myth. Toronto MP Dennis Mills says, “Many people just don’t understand the issue. They have this idea that the Americans are going to build the biggest pipeline the world has ever seen and drain the Great Lakes dry.” There are many proposed diversion schemes that would have minimal effect on ecology. The water diversion scheme in Manitoba is an example of this. It proposes that an insulated pipeline be stationed at the mouth of the Nelson River just before it empties into Hudson Bay. This scheme would allow the Nelson River to run its full, natural course and only divert 1% of the fresh water that is currently being emptied into Hudson Bay. The Canadian people have being misled that the world is going to run out of water. According to cbc.ca, the amount of water on the earth has stayed the same for the last four billion years, and will not change. Canadians have enough water especially compared to many other countries. According to The Globe and Mail, Maude Barlow has said “…31 countries are facing water stress and scarcity and more than a billion people lack adequate access to clean drinking. By the year 2025, as much as two-thirds of the world’s population will be

Due to the location of Canada, they retain a large amount of fresh water, 20% to be exact (Water 2012). However, even with the large percentage only 7% of the renewable freshwater and most of the water (just like in the United States) is not located in desirable areas. The majority of the Canadian population lives along the southern border with the United States and which creates the problem of most of the country 's fresh water is found in the north drainage basins (Water 2012). As this hard to reach water reaches the cities or towns, municipal water supply only accounts for 12% of water use in Canada (Water Uses 2013). The larger user of this finite source come form cooling plants (64%), manufacturing (14%) and agriculture (9%) (Water Uses 2013).

There is a water crisis which faces many parts of the world and it is a threat to survival of human beings since humans are primarily dependent on water. Shortage in drinking water is beginning to show its effects in first world countries, but is a current major problem facing lesser developed countries which have not taken drastic steps to harvest water and purify it to make it safe for human consumption. In developed countries the population growth has strained available water resources and stretched the ability of governments and private firms to provide safe drinking water to the vast majority of the population. Seventy one percent of

Water is just more than drinking water. Water is the most basic and vital resource that humans need to sustain themselves. Water is used for food production from irrigating crops to actually manufacturing them. Canada like the world, uses water for sanitation, cleaning, manufacturing and daily function. Demand and supply will soon be at a crossroad, as increasing population creates increases in pollution, waste-water and global warming (Baker, 2007). This paper will seek to examine the effects of global warming on Canada’s freshwater system, the effects of pollution and will evaluate how Canada manages its freshwater now and what Canada can do to form policies that will adapt to the future crisis in Canada’s freshwater.

In the 1930s, Saskatchewan faced numerous amounts of droughts and decided it was necessary to improve water security for agriculture, municipalities and industry. Lake Diefenbaker provided water to the province through canals and pipelines. Since the 1930s, southern Saskatchewan and the Moose Jaw-Regina Industrial Corridor have grown substantially. The demand for water is already coming close to meeting the capacity of the existing water supply infrastructure through the Upper Qu’Appelle. This limited water supply can be detrimental to both the economy and social growth. Studies have proved that the water use in the Qu’Appelle River Basin is going to increase in the near future. -

Many developing countries do not have the same resources or opportunities for its people. A resource that many Canadians, including myself, take for advantage is water. When I was visiting my home country, I realized that if I ever wanted to drink water I would always have to boil it to get rid of any germs that could make me

In summation, it is apparent that First Nations communities in Canada are deprived of their basic human right to clean water. Canada has failed to effectively address the issue as its policies tend to disregard Aboriginal People’s right to safe drinking water. A significant portion of the responsibility falls on the Crown as it is the responsibility of the Canadian government to ensure that all its citizens have equal opportunities and resources. The literature reviews examined in this paper demonstrates that the problem of the water crisis in First Nations communities is rooted from the systematic discrimination that transpired post-colonialism. Consequently, this paper advanced that there is a need to design and implement a new federal policy

about the problem with the water several days before they told the public about it. (In-depth:

The industrialization of Canada is severely affecting the nations lakes, streams, and rivers. If something is not done to improve the situation it is going to have some severe environmental problems in its future. The following essay will be looking at the factors that cause pollution, and the effect that pollution has on the environment of Canada. It will also explore some of the methods used to treat and clean-up wastewater, and oil spills.

Less water means farming and other crops that need water to grow have lower yield. Water is needed to ensure food security, to feed livestock, and to conserve the biodiversity and environment.