Thank you for the…

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on Ontario's Water Quality Management Framework.
As an active member of conservation and environmental organizations, I have been long been concerned with the protection of water quality and the impact of water bottling in the province.
I previously commented on July 29. Among other things, I urged the province to phase out current permits for bottled water facilities; expand the regulatory review to include all water taking permits; and seek the free, prior and informed consent of affected Indigenous peoples.
I would now like to submit additional comments.
In regard to the proposed new regulation requiring water bottling companies to have the full support of the host municipality for a proposed water bottling, I definitely support giving municipalities the right to say no to water extraction permits. It is not only democratic to give residents, elected representatives and communities a voice, it is imperative in helping to ensure the safety of our water supply In rapidly growing southern Ontario. I urge the province to extend the requirement for municipal consent to renewals, especially if there are changes in company ownership, as well as new applications.
In regard to prioritizing water uses, I support the prioritization proposal and agree with the ranking of environment and drinking water, and then agricultural needs, followed by commercial and industrial uses such as water bottling. I do, however, believe that Ontario should apply an increasingly rigorous conservation and sustainability lens to extractions, with the ultimate goal of phasing them out and leaving water in the ground. In the final analysis, water should be for life, not for profit.
The proposal to manage water takings on a regional area basis rather than a permit by permit basis seems logical. I support continuing groundwater and surface water management on a watershed scale, under conservation authorities. It's a complex matter to understand ecosystem needs and cumulative impacts of water taking on a regional area and watershed.
Given the importance of water as an intergenerational resource, and the need for stronger action to combat climate change, I underline my concerns about the detrimental impact of water extraction, especially for bottled water.
The government cannot overlook the energy required in the use of plastic, from production to transportation. One study concluded that bottled water requires as much as 2,000 times the energy cost of producing tap water. ("Energy Implications of Bottled Water." Environmental Research Letters, 2009). Meanwhile, plastic pollution remains an urgent problem. The Recycling Council of Ontario has estimated more than one billion plastic bottles are not recycled and lost to disposal every year. This is unacceptable.
In framing its water quality management policy, I urge the government to increasingly move toward an approach that will recognize water as a finite public resource rather than a commodity.
Thank you.