Water On The Table
Encyclopedia
Water on the Table is a Canadian
documentary film
directed, produced and written by filmmaker Liz Marshall. The film explores Canada’s relationship to its freshwater
resources and features Canadian activist Maude Barlow
in her pursuit to protect water from privatization
. Counterbalancing Barlow’s views are those of policy and economic experts who assert that water is a resource and a commodity like any other.
Senior Advisor on Water to Father Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann, the President of the United Nations General Assembly
for its 63rd session. During that period, the film also captures Barlow’s involvement in the North Simcoe Landfill (Site 41)
case, which takes place near the town of Barrie
, Ontario
. The pristine Alliston Acquifer was threatened by county council plans to build a landfill
site on top of it. The film also follows Barlow on a fact-finding excursion to Fort McMurray, Alberta
to learn about the effects of oil sands operations on water sources such as the Athabasca River
and its impact on First Nations
communities, namely the Dene
and Cree
peoples of Fort Chipewyan.
Barlow’s contention that water “must be declared a public trust” has its basis in her involvement with water rights issues going back to the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement in the 1980s, when water was under consideration as a tradable good under the terms of that agreement. She continued to be involved in the issue when water was carried over for consideration as both a tradable good and an investment source in the subsequent North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA). She continues to be involved in the issue in her capacity as the national chair of the Council of Canadians. She has also written numerous books on a range of social and political issues, most recently Blue Covenant: The Global Water Crisis and The Coming Battle for the Right to Water.
Barlow’s contention is refuted in Water on the Table by the dissenting voices of policy and economic experts, including:
Water on the Table rounds out the debates with moments of cinematic tribute to water. The film features images of watersheds
, wetlands
, rivers
, estuaries
, waterfalls
and lakes
by Canadian cinematographer Steve Cosens.
The broadcast hour version of Water On The Table premieres March 24th, 2010 on TVO
’s documentary series The View From Here
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
directed, produced and written by filmmaker Liz Marshall. The film explores Canada’s relationship to its freshwater
Freshwater
Fresh water is naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface in ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as groundwater in aquifers and underground streams. Fresh water is generally characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts and...
resources and features Canadian activist Maude Barlow
Maude Barlow
Maude Victoria Barlow is a Canadian author and activist. She is the National Chairperson of The Council of Canadians, a citizens’ advocacy organization with members and chapters across Canada. She is also the co-founder of the , which works internationally for the human right to water...
in her pursuit to protect water from privatization
Privatization
Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise, agency or public service from the public sector to the private sector or to private non-profit organizations...
. Counterbalancing Barlow’s views are those of policy and economic experts who assert that water is a resource and a commodity like any other.
Summary
Water on the Table follows Barlow over the course of a year, from 2008-2009, as she serves as the United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Senior Advisor on Water to Father Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann, the President of the United Nations General Assembly
President of the United Nations General Assembly
The President of the United Nations General Assembly is a position voted for by representatives in the United Nations General Assembly on a yearly basis.- Election :...
for its 63rd session. During that period, the film also captures Barlow’s involvement in the North Simcoe Landfill (Site 41)
North Simcoe Landfill (Site 41)
North Simcoe Landfill was a planned 20.7 hectare landfill site for municipal waste in northern Simcoe County, 40 kilometres northwest of Barrie, Ontario. The site would have received waste from municipalities of Midland, Penetanguishene, Tiny and Tay...
case, which takes place near the town of Barrie
Barrie
Barrie may refer to:* Barrie, city in Ontario, Canada* Barrie , Canadian federal electoral district* Barrie , provincial electoral district* Barrie—Simcoe—Bradford, former Canadian electoral district...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. The pristine Alliston Acquifer was threatened by county council plans to build a landfill
Landfill
A landfill site , is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment...
site on top of it. The film also follows Barlow on a fact-finding excursion to Fort McMurray, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
to learn about the effects of oil sands operations on water sources such as the Athabasca River
Athabasca River
The Athabasca River originates from the Columbia Glacier of the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada...
and its impact on First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
communities, namely the Dene
Dene
The Dene are an aboriginal group of First Nations who live in the northern boreal and Arctic regions of Canada. The Dené speak Northern Athabaskan languages. Dene is the common Athabaskan word for "people" . The term "Dene" has two usages...
and Cree
Cree
The Cree are one of the largest groups of First Nations / Native Americans in North America, with 200,000 members living in Canada. In Canada, the major proportion of Cree live north and west of Lake Superior, in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, although...
peoples of Fort Chipewyan.
Barlow’s contention that water “must be declared a public trust” has its basis in her involvement with water rights issues going back to the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement in the 1980s, when water was under consideration as a tradable good under the terms of that agreement. She continued to be involved in the issue when water was carried over for consideration as both a tradable good and an investment source in the subsequent North American Free Trade Agreement
North American Free Trade Agreement
The North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA is an agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994. It superseded the Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement...
(NAFTA). She continues to be involved in the issue in her capacity as the national chair of the Council of Canadians. She has also written numerous books on a range of social and political issues, most recently Blue Covenant: The Global Water Crisis and The Coming Battle for the Right to Water.
Barlow’s contention is refuted in Water on the Table by the dissenting voices of policy and economic experts, including:
- Terence CorcoranTerence CorcoranTerence "Terry" Dollard Corcoran is editor and columnist for the Financial Post section of the Toronto-based National Post.-Biography and works:...
, editor of the Financial PostFinancial PostThe Financial Post was an English Canadian business newspaper, which published from 1907 to 1998. In 1998, the publication was folded into the new National Post, although the name Financial Post has been retained as the banner for that paper's business section and also lives on in the Post’s...
and long-time journalist writing on economic and business policy issues - Marcel BoyerMarcel BoyerMarcel Boyer is the Bell Canada Professor of industrial economics at the Université de Montréal, CIRANO research Fellow and also vice-president and chief economist at the Montreal Economic Institute. He holds a Ph.D...
, senior economist with the Montreal Economic InstituteMontreal Economic InstituteThe Montreal Economic Institute is a non-profit research organization based in Montreal. It aims at promoting economic education of the general public and efficient public policies in Quebec and Canada through studies and conferences. Its research areas include different topics such as health... - Elizabeth Brubaker, executive director of Environment Probe and a member of Canada’s National Round Table on the Environment and the EconomyNational Round Table on the Environment and the EconomyEmerging from the famous Brundtland Report, Our Common Future, the is a model for convening diverse and competing interests around one table to create consensus ideas and viable suggestions for sustainable development...
- Robert PastorRobert PastorRobert Alan Pastor is a former US national security advisor and writer on foreign affairs.-Education:...
, international affairs expert, former U.S. presidential advisor, Vice President of International Affairs and Professor of International Relations at American UniversityAmerican UniversityAmerican University is a private, Methodist, liberal arts, and research university in Washington, D.C. The university was chartered by an Act of Congress on December 5, 1892 as "The American University", which was approved by President Benjamin Harrison on February 24, 1893...
, and founder of the Center for North American Studies, which focuses on the aim of understanding and building a North American Community, and - Erik R. Peterson, senior advisor with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think tank in Washington, D.C. and director with the A.T. KearneyA.T. KearneyA.T. Kearney is a global management consulting firm, focusing on strategic and operational CEO-agenda concerns. It was founded in 1926, and its head office is in Chicago, Illinois...
Global Business Policy Council.
Water on the Table rounds out the debates with moments of cinematic tribute to water. The film features images of watersheds
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
, wetlands
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
, rivers
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
, estuaries
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
, waterfalls
Waterfall
A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...
and lakes
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
by Canadian cinematographer Steve Cosens.
The broadcast hour version of Water On The Table premieres March 24th, 2010 on TVO
TVOntario
TVOntario, often referred to only as TVO , is a publicly funded, educational English-language television station and media organization in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is operated by the Ontario Educational Communications Authority, a Crown corporation owned by the Government of Ontario...
’s documentary series The View From Here
The View from Here (TV series)
The View from Here is a Canadian television series, which airs on TVOntario. Hosted by Ian Brown, the program airs documentary films.The series is a frequent nominee for Best Documentary Series at the Gemini Awards, and won the award in 1999 and 2000....
.