StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Why the Canadian Government should not Provide Privatization of Water - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The paper "Why the Canadian Government should not Provide Privatization of Water" aims to highlight the management of assets and stakeholder participation in water privatization in Canada. It also focuses on the humanitarian concerns relating to danger attributable to privatizing water…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER91.8% of users find it useful
Why the Canadian Government should not Provide Privatization of Water
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Why the Canadian Government should not Provide Privatization of Water"

Canadian Government should not Provide Privatization of Water Water is a fundamental right, and its accessibility has for a long time been a priority to governments of various countries all over the world. Therefore, it has been a duty of the state to deliver this utility to its citizens. The scenario over time has been intolerable as there has not been equal distribution of water at an affordable rate to the public where incompetence and corruption have been cited as the primary causes for this. In Canada, there have been enormous subsidized systems which have resulted in waste, and since the precious commodity has become scarce and not cheap, this has become a perilous illusion. This has led to water privatization seeming like a practical alternative, as there will be a reduction of waste, sensible pricing and improved distribution. Despite the scarcity of water, lure of profits and promise of an improved economy, it would be vital to remember that there is no substitute for water. Canadian government privatisation of water for trading as a commodity like oil would be detrimental to the welfare of the humanity. There are humanitarian concerns relating to danger attributable to privatizing water that will result to closing out of the poor to its access. This is because prices attached to accessibility of water would not be affordable to majority of the people, leading to further disregard for social welfare, as spread of diseases will be more widespread. Privatizing water will liken it to commodities such as natural gas, which are not essential utilities or even a fundamental human right, and there is also the fear that water trading would lead to ecological destruction as it is a heritage of the Earth. Recently, opponents of privatization have stated that reversing this would be difficult once things go wrong. It would create a scenario where water services would be further privatized all over the country. As time passes, focus will shift to shareholders and not consumers, otherwise taxpayers if water delivery were a state-governed service. This implies that profits gained would go to a small number of people, further deepening inequality. If the service remains a responsibility of the state, any profits reaped go to the public implying lower taxes or increased spending in other beneficial activities (Trew). From a corporate perspective, water exportation would be expensive because of shipping costs since water is heavy and returns from it through local selling would not bring back the investment; therefore, financial viability would not be sensible. Looking at the alternative of transporting through canals and pipelines, the same aspect of high costs would come up. This is because it requires considerable amounts of energy to push the water through the pipelines or canals. Additionally, making water a commodity implies it would be subject to the same forces that dictate commodities in a market-driven industry. This means that high prices charged would lead to decrease in demand. Naturally, people would use less of a product that is expensive and find alternative, cheaper sources. Privatization would present the problem of shifting focus from the public, ultimately owners of the water sources to the corporate where the highest bidder will be given priority. Worse still, privatization would call for issuing for water licenses, which would grant power to private corporations to change the use of water to suit their corporate needs, for example, water for agriculture may be allocated to hydrological fracturing. This is because the market would end up completely deregulated, making such changes almost impossible to reverse (Nelson). In addition, privatization results in loss of jobs to the citizens as private, multinational companies will reduce their work force and transfer jobs to people from other countries in a bid to improve efficiencies. Furthermore, such companies are bound to move away from providing services to the poor due to their resistance and protests because of the public relations factor. This would imply that services would be tailored to suit fellow corporate and ignore the poor; this is the same reason that would drive such companies to raising prices for water in order to attract significant and long-term investors (“Privatization of Water”). In the case of India, there have been conflicts with Coca Cola where residents have stated that the company is lowering the water table through water mining. This has frustrated farmers in the area of Kala Dera as ground water is their main source of water for farming, since erratic weather conditions, that is, severe flooding, storms and droughts, have resulted in water shortage. Water trade is ecologically destructive as it would imply exploitation of water areas through drilling of bore holes. This is because companies would want to derive utmost value from the ground water sources. At the same time, local people would want to avoid paying for something they can access themselves. This raises the issue of criminal activities going on the rise (Devraj). In the Fourth World Water Forum, it was reported that a majority of people are not keen on privatization of water. Consequently, people would rather have water delivery remains a public service where any changes to be made would include community members’ participation. This is because companies and non-governmental organizations that have taken up this service have lost respect and large amounts of money. This is because there has been the realization that desalination- turning salt water into freshwater suitable for human consumption and industrial use, is a better option as technologies are coming up to make the process much cheaper than exportation. It would make sense then to divert funds to discovery of such technologies that would in turn lessen the costs involved in water trade (Malkin). Water privatization supporters in Canada claim that there is a ready market developing considering that States like California thrives economically from farming activities that include rice planting and growing of almonds, and with the drying up of Lake Mead, the water supply has become depleted and hence, they would require another source of water and thus would be willing to pay generously for it (“Nor any drop to drink”). However, this outweighs the demerits privatisation would cause to humanity and also considering that this against majority , it would still result to failure, despite the lure for profits and it having no substitute (Macdonald). On the other hand, privatization of water would be seen to increase efficiency, as proper structures and systems would be in place, and under management of competent persons who will reap financial benefits. Nonetheless, this is not valid as rendering a public service such as water delivery does not require a profit incentive, as it is a basic right and important to improved social welfare. This means that those involved in its delivery should seek to offer the same based on its need, whereas privatization is more likely to detract efficiency, as costs would be cut to increase profitability. An additional argument for privatization is that private companies would be more flexible allowing for adopting of new technologies, they can access funding much easier that companies that are run by the state (Macdonald). This implies that they would have more capacity to deal with the threatening of water shortage because of depletion of water sources. However, this state can be achieved by the government where suitable policies that encourage the same can be enacted and their review made frequent and open to include the public. Then the issue of humanitarian concern would be raised where cases of third world countries would be cited to show that people are suffering at the expense of protecting a heritage of Mother Nature. This is illustrated by the amount of money paid for water in some cities whereas the same is ported in canisters to reach deep-rooted people living in slums. This necessitates the Canadian government to become open to public policy trade-offs even though they would not be politically correct (Macdonald). Privatization of water would create awareness and accountability in companies, where their usage would be mapped and thereby promote conservation through sustainable decisions. These would include cleaning of sewers and reusing the water, proper disposal and withdrawal from depleting sources. In essence, allowing private corporations to undertake water delivery would enable informed decisions, as there would be systems that allow for prediction of future situations as databases and water-maps would be set up to generate hydrological data. In conclusion, it would be necessary to shift focus from whether water delivery should be a public or private rendered service to performance, systems and structures in place to ensure accessibility, quality and efficiency. This means that water privatization would fundamentally become unnecessary, as systems that promote accountability and transparency would bring the efficiency, accessibility and quality sought after by proponents of privatization. More explicitly this would entail hiring competent staff in public offices, ensuring adequate funding by garnering public support, proper management of assets and stakeholder participation. Furthermore, the public would need to be enlightened on importance of sparing water and recycling of sewers as it is becoming scarce, this is particularly so for Canada as a wealthy nation in terms of water supply. Governments should also strive to deal with causes of global warming, whereas educating the public is also crucial, this is since global warming is the foremost cause of depleting sources of water. The only investment practical in the water market is technologies that would facilitate conservation either through less consumption or recycling of sewer water. Works Cited Macdonald, Nancy. “Is the privatization of water the right thing to do?” Macleans. September 2009. Web. 4 April 2013 < http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/09/03/the-market-solution/> Maich Steve. “America’s Thirsty”. November. Rogers. 2005. Web. 4 April 2013 “Nor any drop to drink”. The Economist. December 2007. Web. 4 April 2013 < http://www.economist.com/node/10259055> Devraj, Ranjit. “Development-India: Farmers vs Coca Cola in Water Wars”. Retrieved 4 April 2013 < http://www.ipsnews.net/2009/10/development-india-farmers-vs-coca-cola-in-water-wars/> Malkin, Elisabeth. “At World Forum, Support Erodes for Private Management of Water”. The New York Times. March 2006. Web. 4 April 2013< http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/20/international/americas/20water.html?_r=0> Trew, Stuart. “Water privatization, internet restrictions, a trans-Atlantic concern in Canada-EU trade talks”. Rabble.ca. October 2012. Web. 4 April 2013 < http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/council-canadians/2012/10/water-privatization-internet-restrictions-trans-atlantic-co> Nelson, Joyce. “GE and the Privatization of Water”. Watershed Sentinel. February 2012. Web. 4 April 2013 < http://www.watershedsentinel.ca/content/ge-and-privatization-water> “Privatization of Water”. World Savvy Monitor. November 2009. Web. 4 April 2013 < http://worldsavvy.org/monitor/index.php?option=com_content&id=715&Itemid=1202> Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(Why the Canadian Government should not Provide Privatization of Water Essay, n.d.)
Why the Canadian Government should not Provide Privatization of Water Essay. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/law/1620045-should-canadian-goverment-provide-privatization-of-water
(Why the Canadian Government Should Not Provide Privatization of Water Essay)
Why the Canadian Government Should Not Provide Privatization of Water Essay. https://studentshare.org/law/1620045-should-canadian-goverment-provide-privatization-of-water.
“Why the Canadian Government Should Not Provide Privatization of Water Essay”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/law/1620045-should-canadian-goverment-provide-privatization-of-water.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Why the Canadian Government should not Provide Privatization of Water

The Corporation by Abbott and Achbar

The Corporation Institution's Name Name The Corporation Introduction Professor Joel Bakan introduces the book by likening the corporation to a human being.... He argues that if the corporation was human, then it would be a psychopath.... Good men and women has caused harm in the society through the corporation....
9 Pages (2250 words) Assignment

Health Care Dysfunctions and Their Solutions

"If we agree that there is a right to healthcare, then we are also agreeing that someone must provide these rights," he said, noting that the right to healthcare is different than some other constitutional rights because it incurs a monetary cost on society.... Since the subject of universal healthcare became the rally point for big government ideologues during the Clinton administration, the subject has been alternately pushed onto the media front pages and then allowed to suffer from lack of adequate medical attention required to keep it alive....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Airspace Management and Air Traffic Services

Constant movement will be required between LVI, the mining towns, the fishing industry, SKI and the cities of BP 1, 2 and 3 as well as MP4 in order to provide goods and services.... The current location of the military exercise areas (refer to Figure One above) is isolated from cities and other commercial functions and should be maintained as such.... Consequently commercial air traffic from the west over the military zone will be forbidden and should be designated as a no fly zone....
9 Pages (2250 words) Essay

Is a Publicly Funded Transit System Reasonable

This essay talks about a transport agency Toronto Transit Commission which operates streetcars, rapid transit, and transit bus services in Canada, Ontario and Toronto.... It is the only operator with specifically defined exceptions of domestic public passenger transport system within its city.... hellip; Toronto Transit System is a public funded system, which is making noticeable progress in providing transport systems in Canada....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Water Should Be Made Private Rather Than a Public Good

US has enjoyed abundant supply of water for the last half of 20C but considering the rate of poor water management practices as well as the persistent droughts, these privilege will surely last for a short time.... A sustainable approach to using water resources is the only remedy to ensure regulation of water usage besides ensuring supply of quality water to Americans.... The remedy to this critical water situation may just be the privatisation of water sources instead of making it a public good (Mandri-Perrott 24)....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

Privatization in Canadian Society

privatization of what used to be publicly funded is seen as a way of increasing government revenue at the same time (Lightman 89).... This essay discusses privatization in Canadian society.... The main reason for privatization is cost.... hellip;   This is mainly due to privatization that has kept on increasing in Canadian society.... owever, privatization does not meet the needs of the citizens but instead makes their lives even worse....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

The Issue of Water Privatization

These evidences will outdo the aspect that water should be privatized, simply because privatization has been seen to produce quality services, water privatization is an urbanization move, privatization of water saves lives and privatization also creates economies of scale.... privatization of water will automatically undermine the quality of water.... On the other hand, proponents of water This is from the verity that the utilities of water provision will be of high quality and the investment in this sector will increase; thus, more access to water services....
9 Pages (2250 words) Research Paper

Is British Columbia Primarily a Staples Political Economy

This assignment "Is British Columbia Primarily a Staples Political Economy" gives an account of how this province has developed from the dependence on staples.... The new political economy is driven largely by the service sector with the electoral politics.... hellip; British Columbia is no longer primarily a staple political economy....
6 Pages (1500 words) Assignment
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us