The Council of Canadians Guelph chapter will be at a Town Council meeting in Erin this evening where a so-called Nestlé ‘community benefit fund’ will be voted on.
Our ally Wellington Water Watchers highlights, “The Town of Erin meets tonight at 6:30pm at Town offices at 5684 Trafalgar Rd Erin ON N0B 1Z0. If you live in the Erin area please plan to attend this meeting. (arrive after 5:00 pm to ensure a strong visible presence!)”
And CBC reports, “The Town of Erin will discuss whether it should accept money from Nestlé Waters Canada that would come from a voluntary levy the company has proposed. Nestlé Waters has said the money is a donation to help improve the community and would be based on how much water it pumps from the well the company owns in Hillsburgh. But critics have said the money is nothing more than Nestlé Waters paying the Town of Erin for water in a backhanded way.”
On the 5-member Town Council:
YES – Councillors Rob Smith (rob.smith@erin.ca), John Brennan (john.brennan@erin.ca) and Jeff Duncan (jeff.duncan@erin.ca) appear open to the town accepting the money from Nestlé.
NO COMMENT – Mayor Allan Alls (allan.alls@erin.ca) has refused to speak with the media on this issue prior to this evening’s vote.
UNCLEAR – Councillor Matt Sammut (matt.sammut@erin.ca) is open to local residents raising the equivalent funds and has stated, “I don’t think water should be given to companies to exploit and make significant profits on.”
The CBC article adds, “A staff report from Town of Erin director of finance Ursula D’Angelo recommends accepting the voluntary levy from Nestlé Waters Canada and use the money for community projects.”
You can email the councillors with the emails noted above or send your message to the Town Council General Mailbox at council@erin.ca
Nestlé’s current permit to extract 1.1 million litres of water per day from Hillsburgh expires on August 31, 2017.
The Council of Canadians supports the local opposition that says the Town of Erin should reject funding from Nestlé.
