Columbia River Treaty -- The Americans will undoubtedly want a reduction in the Canadian Entitlement but that’s what negotiations are all about

On Wednesday of this week (December 5^th) the BC government will be holding a community meeting in Invermere.  At the meeting, local area residents will be given an update on the state of Columbia River Treaty (CRT) negotiations … and provided an opportunity for discussion of community interests relating to the treaty.

Also attending the meeting will be BC Liberal MLA for Columbia River – Revelstoke, and opposition critic for the CRT, Doug Clovechok.  I spoke with Doug on the weekend to ask him about the meeting, and its importance:

“I fought hard to get them (BC NDP government) back here to talk to my headwater communities.  The Americans will undoubtedly want a reduction in the Canadian Entitlement, but that’s what negotiations are all about.”

I asked if he would be attending the meeting, as well as making comment himself:

BC Liberal MLA Doug Clovechok, and wife Susan (Area

“F” Director for the Regional District of the E. Kootenay)

“Yes, on both counts. The purpose of the meeting is to get input from constituents, and I am looking forward to it”.

Interestingly, in an age of fiercely adversarial politics, Clovechok was positive towards Katrine Conroy, BC’s Minister Responsible for the Columbia River Treaty:

“I have been working closely with the Minister. This file is truly one that can be approached with a non-partisan lens. This is important to people in the basin, as the Columbia River Treaty drives revenue for the Columbia Basin Trust” 

He continued, “The NDP remain committed to the 14 principals we set out in 2014”

Of the 14 principle, the first sets out the tone of what is to follow … The primary objective of the Treaty should be to maximize benefits to both countries through the coordination of planning and operations.

To that point Clovechok’s thoughts on the Treaty, and the importance of the negotiations, were not lost on me … nor should they be to other British Columbians:

“The modernization of this treaty is complex as there are many downstream benefits that the Americans receive from it, that were never negotiated in the original”.

“Still”, he said, “There’s no question that the Columbia River Treaty is a shining example of one of this planets most successful trans-border water treaties”.

The significance of the treaty, to those in the Columbia River Basin, again becomes borne out in these words from Clovechok, regarding his counter-part NDP Katrine Conroy:

“I have a great working relationship on this with her. I think it is because (former BC Liberal MLA and Minister Responsible for the CRT) Bill Bennett afforded her the same courtesy. Her husband was one of the key drivers behind the creation of the Columbia Basin Trust when he was an NDP MLA”.

And what thoughts about the agreement, from BC’s Minister Responsible for the Columbia River Treaty, Katrine Conroy?

“The renewed discussions about how we can work together to modernize the treaty are still at an early stage. This is a time to build relationships and find common ground.”

“I know that negotiators from both sides of the border are working very hard as they look at options for the future of the treaty”, she concluded.

Following Wednesday’s community meeting in Invermere, the next round of Columbia River Treaty negotiation meetings will take place Dec 12^th and 13^th in Vancouver.

I’m Alan Forseth in Kamloops.  If you have any thoughts on this commentary, please take a moment to share them below in the Comments Section.