Calgary is currently in a state of emergency over an acute water shortage. What started as a water main break in the Bowness neighbourhood has led to water reserves running very close to empty. It has reached a point where Calgary’s Mayor Gondek has warned that unless people majorly reduce consumption “the taps will run dry.”
This emergency did not come out of nowhere. Water shortages have been escalating due to the climate crisis, which is fueled by the oil companies, which run Calgary. Heat waves and low winter precipitation have become the norm in the capital of Big Oil, and the city’s water reserves have been shrinking every year. And so when a freak accident like the burst water main in Bowness occurs, the water supply is tossed from the frying pan to the fire.
Accidents, like the break of Bowness’ water main, are an expression of necessity. And when there exists a $30 billion “deficit” in Albertan infrastructure spending, the breakdown of infrastructure, whether it be a road or water main, becomes a necessity.
UCP premier Danielle Smith’s further cuts to infrastructure spending have made the situation even worse, leaving spending at $1 billion short of what is needed to simply maintain current systems.
All the while the funding for oil subsidies stands at triple that for water management infrastructure, and $600 million is tossed into the pockets of Calgary Flames’ billionaire owner so that he can profit off of a shiny new arena.
This hypocrisy in the face of such a near-catastrophe is completely typical for the capitalists of Alberta, as it is for the capitalists globally. The bourgeois government will subsidize the problem, shortchange the solution, and blame the workers for drinking too much water. To the leaders of our bourgeois democracy, providing fresh water to the millions of workers of cities like Calgary is not nearly as enticing as the promises made by oil lobbyists.
The Calgary water crisis is a warning of things to come for other cities in Canada. A report from 2019 shows that 30 per cent of Canadian water infrastructure is in “fair, poor or very poor condition”. Experts are saying that this could happen elsewhere too.
But we can be sure our ruling class won’t wake up to this wake-up call. Gone is the time when the Canadian state could afford decent quality services and infrastructure—the last decades have been the time of austerity, cutting corners and minimal funding. Meanwhile, the capitalists of Canada are acting as parasites on the economy instead of investing in productive sectors. Before it is too late to avoid a massive infrastructure collapse, the capitalist system has to go.
