Water Policy in Canada

This book deals with the water policy and management in Canada. It discusses various problems and risks in the fresh and drinking water supply in the second largest country in the world. Mohammed Dore argues that water is underpriced and used wastefully in Canada. In selected case studies, he illustrates the major threats from human activity to Canadian freshwaters and drinking water resources, including manufacturing, mining, oil sands production, animal farming and agricultural use. Selected case studies include reviews of even dramatic incidences, e.g. the Walkerton tragedy of 2000, when 7 people were killed and 200 went onto permanent dialysis treatment because of water contamination with harmful pathogens.
The book warns that wastewater treatment standards are often not sufficient, so that many drinking water resources are in peril of wastewater contamination. As most of the water resources are provincial responsibility, the book discusses the water management policies in the different provinces separately. Through a detailed discussion and statistical analyses, it can define water policy and management lessons that emerge from the investigated case studies. It ends by contrasting water policy and practice in Canada with the practice in some European countries.

Mohammed Dore, who did his doctorate at the University of Oxford, UK, came to Brock University in 1981. He has received a number of research grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Network Centre of Excellence in Canada, and the US National Science Foundation. With external funding he established his Climate Change Laboratory in 1996. The twin emphasis of his Lab has been training students to carry out high level policy oriented research that not only led to a number of theses but also to reports for various stakeholders who could implement the policy prescriptions. His research on climate change led him to drinking water policy issues. He has also worked as a consultant to both industry and government agencies; for example he has been hired as a contract consultant by Bell Canada; Environment Canada; Natural Resources Canada; The Municipality of Niagara; and the Capital Region District of Greater Victoria.