Quebec refuses to increase royalties on commercial water use

While Quebec collects up to $70 per million liters used commercially, Italy charges $2,000 for the same quantity while Denmark charges $10,000.

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Quebec Environment Minister Benoit Charette on Wednesday refused a proposal from the opposition Liberals that the province increase the amount of royalties it collects from the commercial use of water.

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The refusal came during a legislative committee hearing on bill 102, Proposed legislation that would reinforce certain provisions of existing environmental regulations and was made in response to a proposal by Liberal MNA Isabelle Melançon.

Unchanged since 2010, the rates charged by the province on commercial water use vary from $2.50 to $70 per million litres, depending on how the water is used. The rate is less than that charged in Ontario and staggeringly less than what is charged by countries in Europe.

The Coalition Avenir Québec had pledged to review those rates during its first term, Melançon said, noting that there are but a few months left until the next general election.

Melançon said hearings on the environmental law were an appropriate forum to review the rates and proposed an amendment in the law that royalties more accurately reflect the market price for commercial use of water.

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Charette disagreed and the amendment was voted down by the majority of CAQ MNAs on the committee.

“I don’t see a better moment (to discuss the issue),” said Melançon. “What I understand is that the CAQ has reneged on an electoral promise. I hope those listening to us understand that.”

Melançon noted that while Quebec collects up to $70 per million liters used commercially, Italy charges $2,000 for the same quantity while Denmark charges $10,000.

In 2018, the 2 billion liters of water bottled commercially in Quebec resulted in less than $150,000 paid to the province’s treasury. In the same year, Ontario collected $23 million in water royalties.

Quebec charges royalties to industries that use more than 75,000 liters of water a day.

The $70 per-million-liter rate is applied by the province to the production of bottled water, beverage manufacturing, the production of certain chemicals and pesticides as well as the extraction of petroleum and gas.