TAKE the "BOYCOTT NESTLE!" Pledge . . . Actions taken . . .

Re: BOYCOTT NESTLE! Actions taken . . .

Postby Oscar » Sat May 13, 2017 10:41 am

Time for Ontario to protect its water supplies

[ https://canadians.org/blog/time-ontario ... r-supplies ]

May 12, 2017 - 9:43 am By Mike Nagy and Maude Barlow, published in The Record, May 11, 2017

New Ontario guidelines regarding commercial water-bottling permits do not address the problems of protecting Ontario's groundwater, reducing plastic waste and pollution and ensuring water is for life, not profit.

The revised guidelines make companies like Nestlé Waters Canada jump over more hurdles to renew their permits to take water. On their own, however, the guidelines will not significantly reduce or stop the bottling of Ontario's precious water by multinational corporations such as Nestlé.

Nestlé Waters Canada is currently permitted to take more groundwater every single day than the average Ontarian uses in 70 years. The revised guidelines do nothing to change this.

The law governing groundwater taking, which the new guideline relates to, has not itself been changed, and nothing in the guidelines reflects the goal of phasing out or even reducing groundwater taking for bottling in Ontario.

The revised guidelines will extend public consultations on permit applications from one month to three, suggest better consultation with Indigenous communities, and urge stricter consideration of cumulative impacts. The guidelines also increase the fees that corporations pay for water permits.

Contrary to the public accusations of "regulatory assault" that the Canadian Bottled Water Association recently raised, the new regulations suggest the outcome may be business as usual. Despite the new guidelines, private profit-taking from Ontario's water will continue as the population grows, demand for water rises, and climate change-related droughts increase in frequency and duration.

Premier Kathleen Wynne stated in September in mandating this review that "immediate improvements are needed when it comes to water bottling practices, particularly in the face of climate change, the increasing demands on water resources by a growing population and concerns about water security."

Ontario residents have made it clear they expect more than "improvements" in water-bottling policy. Recent polls by the Council of Canadian and Mainstreet Research show that two-thirds of the public supports an end to water-extraction permits for bottling. Of 20,000 or more people who responded to the environment ministry's consultation on permits, the majority preferred that the government stop letting corporations such as Nestlé take water for bottling.

In light of overwhelming public support, now is the time for Wynne to announce a bold new policy to phase out, within 10 years, permits to take water for bottling in Ontario. The premier can begin by announcing that no permits to take water for this purpose will be issued for any new wells.

Second, approximately 17 permits to take water for bottling are up for renewal in 2017. Wynne should require these corporations to reduce their water taking by 20 per cent this year, and by 20 per cent each subsequent year. It is our understanding that an additional 15 permits will be up for renewal between 2021 and 2025. These permit holders should be advised that their permits will end within five years of renewal.

Third, the Ontario government must develop a just transition plan to protect workers in the water extraction industry.

To protect our air and our health, a previous Liberal government had the courage to close Ontario's coal-powered generating plants. The premier should take action to reduce the mountains of plastic bottles in landfills, and to protect Ontario's precious drinking water supplies.

It's time to end water-extraction permits for bottling. Water is for life, not for profit.

Mike Nagy is the chair of the Wellington Water Watchers. Maude Barlow is national chair of the Council of Canadians and chairs the board of Washington-based Food and Water Watch.

Maude Barlow's blog
National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians.
[ https://canadians.org/blogs/maude-barlow ]
Oscar
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Re: BOYCOTT NESTLE! Actions taken . . .

Postby Oscar » Mon Jun 12, 2017 11:32 am

The Council demands better from Ontario Premier Wynne on bottled water

[ https://canadians.org/blog/council-dema ... tled-water ]

June 9, 2017 - 10:09 am

The Council of Canadians says that the Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne's new bottled water pricing policy will not protect groundwater and that provincial permits for bottled water takings - notably in Hillsburgh and Aberfoyle - must be phased out.

CBC reports, "The provincial government has confirmed that as of August 1, companies that bottle and sell water in Ontario will pay more to take water. The fee will go from just $3.71 for every million litres of groundwater taken to $503.71. Companies that take more than 50,000 litres of water a day must apply for a permit to take water."

The article highlights, "Mike Nagy of Wellington Water Watchers [says] 'we still need these consumptive commoditized permits to be phased out'... Mark Calzavara, regional organizer for Ontario, Quebec and Nunavut for The Council of Canadians, echoed Nagy's sentiments. 'It is good that the province is doing cost recovery with the new charges but the people of Ontario overwhelmingly want to see bottled water phased out', he said. 'Charging roughly one penny per case of bottled water will do nothing to protect vulnerable groundwater'."

The Council of Canadians argues that the Ontario government's new rules for Nestlé fall well short of public demands.

Moving forward we are highlighting:

1- Nestlé has applied for a 10-year renewal of its now expired 5-year permit to extract 3.6 million litres of water a day from a well in Aberfoyle. That permit expired on July 31, 2016, but Nestlé has been allowed to continue to extract water during this government review process. Will the government now grant the company a 5-year permit? How much longer will Nestlé be allowed to pump water under an expired permit?

2- The Nestlé permit to extract 1.1 million litres of water per day from the Hillsburgh well expires on August 31, 2017. Will the Ontario government grant them a 5-year permit for that operation as well?

The permit applications in Aberfoyle and Hillsburgh will be key moments in the lead up to the provincial election that must take place on or before June 7, 2018.

3- Nestlé also wants to extract 1.6 million litres a day from its recently purchased Middlebrook well in Elora. The Ontario government's new regulations put a two year pause on that plan, but what will happen on January 1, 2019 when that temporary moratorium expires? Given that well is on the traditional territory of the Six Nations of the Grand River, and 11,000 of their members do not have access to clean drinking water, what will the consultation with them look like? How meaningful will it be?

To add your name to our online pledge to Boycott Nestle, which has now been signed by 52,265 people, please click here:
[ https://secure.canadians.org/ea-action/ ... n.id=56392 ]


Brent Patterson's blog
Political Director of the Council of Canadians
[ https://canadians.org/blogs/brent-patterson ]
Oscar
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Re: BOYCOTT NESTLE! Actions taken . . .

Postby Oscar » Thu Jun 15, 2017 9:41 am

Guelph, Kitchener-Waterloo, Centre Wellington & London chapters at Waterstock

[ https://canadians.org/blog/guelph-kitch ... waterstock ]

June 11, 2017 - 6:56 pm

The Council of Canadians Guelph, Kitchener-Waterloo, Centre Wellington and London chapters were at the Wellington Water Watchers-organized Waterstock gathering in Erin (about 80 kilomtres north-west of Toronto) today.

Centre Wellington chapter activist Diane Ballantyne has posted on Facebook, "It was a spectacular day working with progressive organizations, eating amazing food and listening to some awesome music!"

The promotion for the event highlighted, "Waterstock is the rallying point to send a strong message to Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne to protect water against corporate control and exploitation. ...Waterstock promises to be a bold, impactful, and historic day full of artisanal food and beverage, music, artistic displays and protest."

It also noted, "Nestlé and other large corporations have exploited outdated provincial water taking bylaws that were originally intended for agricultural and value-added industrial use. Water is sacred but is becoming rapidly commoditized, ‘bottled’, and shipped around the planet for great profit, (to return, if ever, to our watersheds packaged in a piece of plastic.) ...Over 20,000 Ontarians have spoken clearly in support for the Province to take action. It is time to take a stand and be stewards of our farmlands and aquifers. Your participation is essential for success."

The proceeds from Waterstock will go to covering the costs of the event, continuing the campaign to keep water public, and to support the Chippewa on the Thames legal challenge to uphold Canada's duty to consult requirement on the Line 9 pipeline which traverses Chippewas territory.

The Council of Canadians joins with Wellington Water Watchers in opposing Nestle's application to renew its permit to take 3.6 million litres of water a day from a well in Aberfoyle (that permit expired on July 31, 2016 but Nestle continues to extract water under the terms of that permit) and its application to renew its permit to take 1.1 million litres of water a day from a well in Hillsburgh (that expires on August 31).

To add your name to our online pledge to Boycott Nestle, which has now been signed by 52,278 people, please click here:
[ https://secure.canadians.org/ea-action/ ... n.id=56392 ]


#BoycottNestle


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


Brent Patterson's blog
Political Director of the Council of Canadians
[ https://canadians.org/blogs/brent-patterson ]
Oscar
Site Admin
 
Posts: 9079
Joined: Wed May 03, 2006 3:23 pm

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