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I think we can all agree that clean water is one of Canada’s greatest public assets. With about 0.5 percent of the world's population, Canada has a disproportionate share of global water supply with 7 percent of the globe's renewable water and roughly half of the world's lakes.
Yet, clean water is not available to all Canadian residents.
Concerns with groundwater pollution through industrial and commercial activity arise regularly in juried environmental and government reports. However, in regulatory and policy decisions, the economic well-being of corporate shareholders appears to take precedence over the well-being of the public and unhindered access to clean water for many communities.
One example showcases the issue daily right on our store shelves.
The lack of federal and provincial regulation (from all parties) with regards to groundwater extraction has made it very easy for multi-nationals like Nestle to swoop in and monopolize groundwater resources.
Nestle Waters Canada—a subsidiary of the multi-billion-dollar Swiss company Nestle Group, has a long and unfettered history of extracting clean groundwater across Canada.
Nestle Waters Canada has two plants—one in Hope, BC, the other in Aberfoyle, near the city of Guelph, Ontario. There have been ongoing water disputes between communities and Nestle in both those regions.
The water that Nestle accesses in Ontario costs them $3.21 per million litres, paid to the provincial treasury. Those same million litres of water, transferred to single-use plastic bottles and sold at $075-$1.25 each, garner from $500,000 to $1,000,000 in profit to Nestle.
At the same time, Nestle has fought for and acquired exclusive rights to local groundwater sources without intervention by provincial or federal representatives.
So, the question to you, sir, is simple. Will you pledge and commit to drafting, presenting, and championing a private member bill requiring the government to put an end to the draw down of our water for profit?
In the absence or failure of such a bill, will you pledge and commit to drafting, presenting, and championing a private member bill requiring that provincial and local governments receive no less than 50% of gross (before tax) revenues resulting from sales (wherever conducted) of water drawn from Canadian community sources, to be paid to the public treasury on a quarterly basis – and that local water requirements take precedence over commercial water processing?
If you consider this to be a provincial rather than federal issue, how and when will you exhort your provincial colleagues to prepare and pass such regulations?
Thank you for your time. We are all looking forward to your response on this critical issue.
Dennis Rizzo
Orillia
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