I have a well I depend on…

I have a well I depend on for my water and I need water to live and to grow my vegetable garden. I live in Northumberland Peterborough South where agriculture is the biggest employer and biggest business in our local economy. Our farmers need water for their crops and livestock. We have 2 bottled water plants in our riding.
People to depend on water for their lives voluntarily reduce their water takings during a drought because they know the value of their need for water and conserve water as a matter of course. Voluntary water taking reductions for bottled water takers has not been monitored in the past and won’t be now, if it’s left to be voluntary, and they are selling our water at enormous profit. The water they take leaves our water table forever, never to return. Do not remove the hard won mandatory reductions in water takings during drought conditions for bottled water permit holders . Within a strong water prioritization strategy, and in adherence to the ministry’s mandate to apply the precautionary principle, common sense requires that lower priority permits would necessarily be reduced or terminated in the case of drought conditions. While it is important for a Water Director to have the ability to decrease water takings at any time, there needs to be the framework of prioritization that would ensure accountability. Companies and other permit proponents that claim to be committed to water and environmental sustainability and who are committed to voluntarily reducing their water-taking during drought conditions will be unaffected by making this action mandatory. In fact, making this action mandatory reinforces the conservation efforts they claim to value by ensuring that other water takers follow their lead. At the community level, moreover, the lack of mandatory drought restrictions for large water takers like bottlers has been the source of considerable resentment and concern among our rural residents and farmers. Removing these drought restrictions will re-ignite this fear and concern and question this government's priority to our farmers and rural citizens who need water to live.

The proposal to issue permits for up to a maximum of 10 years instead of five years, at the discretion of the Permit to Take Water Director on a case-by-case basis is just wrong. Given the rapid pace of development and population growth, in the context of the unpredictability of climate change, Permits To Take Water should be limited to a maximum of 5 years to ensure timely review. Extending the time-lines on these permits does not have popular support. In fact, a poll Wellington Water Watchers commissioned in 2018 found more that 68% of Ontarions from all parties and in all parts of the province supported the phasing out of permits for bottling water within the subsequent 10 years. Extending the time-limits on PTTWs would be contrary to the will of the people of this province and clearly not in the interest of all Ontarians who depend on well water and those whose municipal water has to compete with giant bottled water takers.

I am also concerned about an inadequate representation for the needs of the ecosystem. Given the lack of appropriate input and consultation from First Nations within this strategy, and add to that the recent cutbacks to Conservation Authorities, this lack of representation is exacerbated. While Ontario’s water-taking policies recognize the need to protect ecosystem functions there is no protocol for Ministry collaboration with the MNRF to develop guidance on how to prioritize, monitor and protect the key indicators of ecosystem functions in relation to water takings. The Ministry must do more to protect biodiversity, especially in southern Ontario where biodiversity is most at risk.

In summary, I reject this framework proposal. Consultation with and the consent of First Nations is missing from this framework, as is the necessary prioritization of water taking permits that would be derived from an adequate consultation process. Water is not simply a ‘resource to be managed’ but the source of all of our lives.