WATER SNIPING IS BUT THE TIP OF THE ICEBURG

Saturday's K-W Record carried an article titled "Nestle Water stands by criticism of water group". Apparently Nestle Waters wrote a lettter to the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, critical of a local environmental group in Guelph known as the Wellington Water Watchers. Oh this is so surprising. Does anyone think that corporate Canada or U.S. are going to be writing letters complimentary of environmental watchdogs? When this does happen as it occasionally does, it's because the environmental group are either totally co-opted or they've mistepped publicly and given the corporate polluter some free public relations.

In this case Nestle Waters have suggested that Wellington Water Watchers are "attempting to undermine public confidence in the Province's stewardship of water". Really and on what basis would that be possible? Perhaps in regards to deaths in Walkerton, perhaps based on the destruction of the Elmira drinking water aquifer or perhaps because of the cancers, illnesses and deaths in the Bishop St. community in Cambridge, courtesy of Trichloroethylene contamination. Perhaps even because of the financial exploitation of a dwindling essential resource such as water. It is dwindling both in security of supply and in quality and to date no government seems willing to reverse that trend.

As far as the nitpicking criticism by Nestle goes it's pretty small potatoes. It's not "nice" but expect in the future full scale public relations campaigns by industry in favour of the Ministry of the Environment and at the expense of either groups or individuals who they perceive as being threatening to their bottom line.