Calgary Water Supply

April 22, 2008

Mr. Taylor: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Calgary has a growing population and a limited water supply. More than a million Calgarians rely on the Bow River watershed for safe, secure supplies of drinking water. It's the only source we've got. To the Minister of Environment: will the minister take a page from New York City and the greater Vancouver area's playbooks and commit to protecting Calgary's watershed by buying private lands, buying conservation easements on private land, and buying back forestry management agreements?

Mr. Renner: Well, Mr. Speaker, I don't believe that such action would be necessary. We have under way a very worthwhile public discussion that involves land use and the land-use framework. Part of that discussion is: how do we protect the watershed for much of our population? I would suggest that questions with respect to land use should be referred to the minister that is responsible for land use, that being the Minister of Sustainable Resource Development.

Mr. Taylor: No sooner said than done. To the Minister of Sustain-able Resource Development: given that their environmental integrity is critical to protecting Calgary's water supply, will the minister suspend all new oil and gas licences in the eastern slopes until his land-use plan is implemented?

Dr. Morton: Mr. Speaker, you'd think the hon. member, being a former member of the media, might pay attention to what happens in the Calgary area. Of course, the new Glenbow Ranch park between Cochrane and Calgary , the entire north bank of the Bow River , has already been secured for public purposes thanks to this government. In terms of the watershed management plan, we have different groups on the Elbow, the Bow, all the tributaries to the Bow, and our forestry department, the FMA, has not one but two water hydrologists. Every FMA, every annual marketing, every annual cut plan, has to pass a hydrology report. We lead the country in that respect.

Mr. Taylor: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As a former member of the media I do remember that when people gave me answers to questions I hadn't asked, I thanked them for the answer but asked them if they would answer the question that I asked. So I will put this to the minister again. Will the minister suspend all new oil and gas licences in the eastern slopes until his land-
use plan is implemented?
That's the question I want answered.

Dr. Morton: Mr. Speaker, I think there was a show on Broadway once called Stop the World – I Want to Get Off. I'm sure the Liberals must feel that way these days, but that is not the way the real world works. Life goes on day to day, week to week, month to month. We have a draft of the land-use framework, which is shortly forthcoming and addresses all of these issues. In this province we do oil and gas; we do wheat and cattle. We're going to continue to do them. The question is: do we do it in an environmentally responsible and sustainable way? And the answer is yes.