Constitutional and international trade law challenges to provincial regulation of water exports

This thesis reviews the power of the Canadian provinces to control the removal of water from the province. The enquiry is made within the context of recent legislation enacted by nearly all provinces to restrict the movement of water on either a water-basin, provincial, or national scale. The thesis examines the legislation and the underlying statements of policy and purpose made by the provinces to explain why they enacted the legislation. It then considers the potential challenges against provincial power to enact such legislation, which may arise from a constitutional or international trade law perspective.; The thesis concludes that some of the provincial legislative mechanisms to restrict water exports are more susceptible to challenge than others. The thesis recommends legislative mechanisms to maximize provincial power to regulate water exports, while protecting provincial interests and limiting constitutional and international trade law challenges.