BOTTLED WATER TAKING PERMITS

In December 2016 the Liberal provincial government put a moratorium on any new or expanding water taking permits for the bottled water industry. That moratorium expires at the end of this year. In a surprising move to me, the Ford Conservative government is asking for public input whether or not to extend the moratorium for another year. My take on the situation is that it is simply the Ford government playing politics. I fully expect they will do exactly what they want to do which is likely nothing. In other words let the moratorium expire and not replace it. Regardless of what public input they receive who is going to audit that input? Correct, no one.

Dr. Robert Case of the Wellington Water Watchers is O.K. with the proposed extension of the moratorium for another year although long term he would prefer if the bottled water industry were simply phased out. He sees it as adding nothing to to the communities they operate in. Also they withdraw large quantities of groundwater locally while selling their water elsewhere. For me the bottom line is extracting a public resource for private profit is inherently wrong.No one owns the rain which brings us groundwater. Local citizens should control local groundwater even if that means via imperfect local municipalities being in control albeit with restrictions on their ability to turn around and sell to private bottling companies.

The title of the Waterloo Region Record article in last Saturday's paper is "Province seeks to extend moratorium on bottled water taking permits".