Friday, December 9
7:00 – 9:00 pm

Room S154, Medicine Hat College
299 College Drive South East

In 2008, the Alberta government announced it would review and update the water allocation system in the province, a system that is proving increasingly incapable of dealing with the challenges of today’s emerging water crisis. Policy recommendations released by the government in late 2009 suggest it is moving toward a province-wide deregulated market for water in the province, turning critical decisions about who will be able to access water over to the market.

With long-delayed public consultations promised in the new year by Premier Redford, it’s more important than ever for Albertans to explore and discuss alternatives to water markets that will build a water allocation system on the principles of equity, fairness, sustainability and respect for treaty obligations.

Join the Our Water Is Not For Sale network and Jeremy Schmidt, author of the soon-to-be released report Alternative Water Futures in Alberta, for an exploration of the challenges for water in Alberta, why markets aren’t the answer to Alberta’s water challenges and what alternative allocation systems that protect our water commons for ecosystems, our communities and future generations could look like.

Presented by the Our Water Is Not For Sale network, with support from the Canadian Union of Public Employees, Council of Canadians, Parkland Institute, Public Interest Alberta and Sierra Club Prairie

For more information about the tour and to support the campaign against water markets, visit www.ourwaterisnotforsale.com.

Jeremy Schmidt’s research report Alternative Water Futures in Alberta will be available December 5 on the Parkland Institute website at www.parklandinstitute.ca.

About Jeremy Schmidt

Jeremy J. Schmidt is a Trudeau Scholar and PhD candidate in the Department of Geography at the University of Western Ontario. He holds a MA in Geography (McGill) and two undergraduate degrees (Lethbridge; Prairie) with majors in geography, philosophy, theology and wilderness leadership. He is the co-editor of Water Ethics: Foundational Readings for Students and Professionals and has been a board member of the Canadian Water Resources Association (CWRA) since 2009. He has served on working groups for ethics and water management with UNESCO and for a pan-Canadian water strategy with the CWRA. He has been an invited participant of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to the Religion, Science and Environment Symposium. Hisgraduate work includes studies of global biogeochemistry, environmental economics, and resource management. His doctoral research examines water governance, ethics and environmental management in Alberta: www.waterethic.ca.