Nestle opposes 'blue communities' vision

[Oscar]

Nestle opposes 'blue communities' vision

[ http://canadians.org/blog/nestle-oppose ... ies-vision ]

October 9, 2016 - 5:57 am

A 'blue community' is a municipality that adopts a framework that recognizes water as a human right, opposes the sale of bottled water in public facilities and at municipal events, and promotes publicly financed, owned and operated water and wastewater services. In March 2011, Burnaby became the first blue community in Canada. Then in September 2013, Bern became the first international blue community.

Blue communities can also be religious groupings, universities, First Nations, or unions. In November 2013, the Evangelisch-reformierte Kirchgemeinde Bern-Johannes Church and the University of Bern became the first church and university-based blue communities. In January 2015, Tsal'alh, St’át’imc Territory became the first Indigenous blue community. And in September 2016, the 200,000-member Swiss trade union UNIA became the first union to become a blue community.

The blue communities initiative is catching on with more than 3.6 million people worldwide now living in a blue community.

But the Swiss-based transnational Nestle doesn't like the blue community vision.

In March 2014, Nestle's director of corporate affairs John B. Challinor II wrote, "It appears that [Thunder Bay city] council fully recognizes this resolution for what it is: a Trojan horse-like treatise developed solely to encourage Canadian municipalities to ban the sale of bottled water in their facilities under the guise of human rights and infrastructure management." He added, "The Blue Communities Project is not an environmental initiative — it’s a political campaign being waged by CUPE against the Canadian beverage industry and its 13,000 employees across Canada."

Then Challinor claimed, "We agree with the Council and CUPE that water is a human right [and] we also support continued investment in our municipal systems." But Nestle chairman Peter Brabeck has stated he only believes in the "human right to hydration and hygiene" in relation to the "1.5 per cent" of the water used for these purposes, not for the other 98.5 per cent of water. And Challinor's support for "investment in our municipal systems" could relate to Nestle's role in the World Bank's Water Resources Group which says to be eligible for funding water projects must provide for at least one partner from the private sector.

Despite Nestle's intervention, Thunder Bay became a blue community.

In March 2013, DurhamRegion.com reported, "Deputations against the Blue Communities Project proposal [at Oshawa's development services committee] were made by John Challinor of Nestle Waters and Jim Goetz of the Canadian Beverage Association." And in April 2012, the Nanaimo Daily News reported, "City councillors have seen letters and e-mails from lobbyists hoping no further action on the ban will be taken. Nestle Waters Canada writes the Blue Communities designation is more of a political campaign by CUPE than an environmental initiative. and calls the proposed ban 'an overly simplified, factually incorrect, feel-good resolution'."

Nanaimo became a blue community, Oshawa did not.

Nestle also intervened to stop Chatham and Cobourg from becoming blue communities, but was unsuccessful in stopping Victoria.

In September 2012, Nestle even wrote the City of Guelph to ask that it withdraw its co-sponsorship of a community screening of the film Tapped, a documentary about the bottled water industry. [ http://globalnews.ca/news/297909/docume ... st-nestle/ ]

On September 22, the Council of Canadians launched a new Boycott Nestle declaration to stop the transnational corporation profiting from water. Many people are outraged that Nestle outbid the Township of Centre Wellington when it tried this summer to purchase a local well to ensure its drinking water supply. Nestle wants the well for "future business growth". Since then, 24,836 people have signed our pledge. You can add your name by clicking here.

To find out more about how to make your community a blue community, click here:
[ https://secure.canadians.org/ea-action/ ... n.id=56392 ]

#BoycottNestle

Brent Patterson's blog
Political Director of the council of Canadians
[ http://canadians.org/blogs/brent-patterson ]

[Oscar]

Nestlé accused of 'shameful tactic' after employees fill seats at contentious meeting

[ http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/kitc ... -1.3841508 ]

Company filling seats at special meeting in Guelph, Ont., kept residents out, councillor says

Nestlé Waters Canada is under fire after employees sat in the city council chambers in Guelph, Ont., hours before a special meeting on water-taking permits was set to begin Monday night.

"This is a shameful tactic," Coun. James Gordon posted to Facebook, saying the company bused employees to the meeting "to take seats away from citizens."

The Nestlé facility in Aberfoyle is just 12 kilometres from Guelph city hall, and the company has said it employs more than 300 people from the local area.

Mayor Cam Guthrie said the people arrived during another public meeting and didn't leave. As people left during the special council meeting, Guthrie had bylaw officers bring people in from an overflow room where they were sitting on the floor to watch the council meeting.

"After the tenth delegation, the Nestlé employees left and the chamber was wide open for anyone to come in and join us for the remaining 20 delegations," Guthrie wrote on Twitter after he was accused of allowing the employees to take seats from citizens.

"I didn't 'allow' anyone to do anything," Guthrie wrote. "I called a special meeting specifically to hear from the citizens of our community on this topic so please don't go spreading false accusations about me allowing things that I had no control over."

MORE:

[ http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/kitc ... -1.3841508 ]

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RELATED:

Nestle's water taking permit in Aberfoyle under review by Ontario's Ministry of Environment – Aug. 25, 2016
[ http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener ... -1.3735083 ]

Why Nestlé's Aberfoyle well matters so much to Guelph, Ont., residents - Sept. 26, 2016
[ http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener ... -1.3779649 ]

Anti-Nestlé rally in Guelph unites people of all ages against 'bad use of our water' - Sept. 27, 2016
[ http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener ... -1.3779056 ]

A rare look inside Nestlé's Aberfoyle water bottling plant - Nov. 01, 2016
[ http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener ... -1.3825916 ]

[Oscar]

Guelph chapter presents deputation to City Council against Nestle water-takings

[ http://canadians.org/blog/guelph-chapte ... er-takings ]

November 8, 2016 – 12:17 am

The Council of Canadians Guelph chapter was at Guelph City Hall last night to support a motion that would have the City of Guelph send a letter to the Ontario provincial government stating its "concern that the permit to take water is not in the best interest of the City of Guelph and the watershed shared by the City of Guelph".

Nestle is applying to the provincial government for a 10-year renewal of its 5-year permit (granted in 2011) to extract 3.6 million litres of water a day from the Grand River watershed. The Aberfoyle permit expired on July 31, but Nestle has continued to pump water under the terms of the old permit as the ministry reviews its application.

Throughout the evening the Guelph chapter provided updates:

5:30 pm - Nestlé packed the Council Chamber, but delegates can still speak whereas the audience members cannot. There is an overflow room set up so all can view the proceedings.

6:30 pm - Outside City Hall at the Rally for Water. The sizeable crowd listened intently to various speakers and performers, and then proceeded inside to listen to the Council proceedings on the matter of Nestlé's water takings in Guelph and surrounding aquifers. Nestlé bused in their workers in a bid to pack the Chamber, so most protesters were left to watch the proceedings in an overflow room.

7:30 pm - Thus far, the Council and audience have heard from several delegates, one of who was pro Nestlé taking water with the rest speaking against or representing government bodies which are required to remain balanced.

8:30 pm - It's going to be a very long night in the Council Chamber. Each speaker is given 5 minutes with questions to follow. At this point, there are 30 delegates remaining and a break coming up shortly. Most have been single person speakers, but there have been youth groups at the mic. Hooray for civic engagement!

11 pm - Around 40 delegates are slated to speak tonight and the video feed just cut out. Now people in the overflow room are down to just audio with roughly 10 speakers left.

In her deputation (presented at about 11:45 pm), Guelph chapter activist Lin Grist told City Council, "We have been holding Nestle’s bottled water business accountable here in Guelph for about ten years now. For the last year, we have been working to stop Nestle from getting permits for the Middlebrook well. In response to Nestle trumping the bid of the township of Centre Wellington to buy Middlebrook, we asked our supporters to commit to a boycott of all bottled water and all Nestle products. Over 40,000 people have declared their support for the boycott."

And Grist highlighted, "The renewal of Nestle’s permits to take water is not in the best interest of the City of Guelph. Groundwater resources are finite. Droughts, climate change and over-extraction continue to impact our limited water sources. Ontario has recently experienced a series of devastating droughts. At this pace, communities will not have enough for their future needs. Water is a human right, a commons and a public trust, to be shared, protected, carefully managed and enjoyed by all who live around it. Water should not be a source of profit."

Guelph-based writer Adam A. Donaldson tweeted:
- Grist is here for everybody's grandchildren, that can't speak for themselves yet.
- 40K have supported CoC boycott of bottle water products after Nestle bought Middlebrook.
- Many members of CoC have called on the MOECC [Ministry of Environment and Climate Change] on the moratorium and proposed changes to PTTW [Permit to Take Water] process.
- "Water is a human right," Grist wraps up on.

Guelph chapter activist Paul Costello and Toronto-based Council of Canadians organizer Mark Calzavara were also at last night's City Council meeting and handed out more than 100 of our Boycott Nestle buttons.

At around 12:15 am this morning an 11-0 vote allowed the motion to go forward for a final vote on November 28.

#BoycottNestle #waterislife

Tags: chapters [ http://canadians.org/tags/chapters ]

Brent Patterson's blog
Political Director of the Council of Canadians
[ http://canadians.org/blogs/brent-patterson ]