This has to stop.
Nestlé’s permit to pump groundwater out of Aberfoyle, Ontario for its bottled water empire expired two years ago.
Since then, Nestlé has continued aggressively pumping. And earlier today, it surpassed taking its 2 billionth litre of water on that expired permit.
This is an astronomical amount of pure, clean and increasingly valuable water taken directly from the underground aquifer that will never be replenished.
Nestlé is exploiting Ontario’s lax regulations that allow commercial water bottlers to continue pumping out and bottling groundwater after their permits expire if they apply for a renewal before the expiration date.
Nestlé is currently seeking a new 10-year permit to continue its bottled water takings.
Enough is enough. It’s time for Ontario to turn off the tap to Nestlé and phase out bottled water permits for good.
I’m proud to say that thanks to generous Council of Canadians supporters like you, we have been making important inroads towards that very goal.
Now we are actively mobilizing with community groups and First Nations across Ontario to push Premier Doug Ford and his government to deny Nestlé’s new application for 10 more years of water takings and phase out permits for single-serve disposable bottled water products altogether.
But with the clock ticking and the taps wide open, I really need your help today to take this fight to the next level.
Ontario needs to take bold action to protect precious community groundwater sources throughout our province, which are already under extreme stress from climate change, population growth and over-extraction.
By and large, bottled water is a frivolous convenience that’s bad for our environment and our communities. But it’s also an obscenely profitable business.
Nestlé knows this. That’s why it’s not only seeking long-term water taking permits in Ontario, but elsewhere in Canada and around the world. These permits often end up granting Nestlé even greater access to water sources than the surrounding communities who rely on them for survival.
The bottled water industry also produces an enormous amount of plastic waste that ends up clogging our landfills and oceans. Only about half of plastic bottles in Ontario are properly recycled.
The number of plastic bottles used to package the 2 billion litres of water that Nestlé has taken on an expired permit alone is enough to encircle the Earth more than 16 times!
With Nestlé currently pushing to lock-in 10 more years of water takings in Ontario, the time to act is now.
Polling conducted by the Council of Canadians last year revealed that two-thirds of people in Ontario want the provincial government to phase out all bottled water takings.
Premier Ford recently boasted that “we’re a government that listens.” With your help today we’ll make sure he hears the will of the people of Ontario on bottled water and acts on it!
Together, we’ll hold the Ontario government accountable to its obligation to protect water as a human right and ensure it is there for future generations.