I am responding to the…

I am responding to the proposed new framework developed by your administration to manage water-taking in Ontario. I live in Guelph, Ontario and we are ENITRELY DEPENDANT on groundwater for the drinking water supply for the 130,000 plus citizens who live in this city.
We are also surrounded by some of the best farmland in Canada and the farmers, who provide food for the people of Ontario, are dependent on a good and untainted supply of water for their crops.

We are fortunate to have a series of aquifers in our watershed that provide us with water BUT extensive water—taking by corporations to either export the water out of the region OR to clean the gravel that they mine to export to the United States,
has meant that the access to drinking water for the residents of our watershed is at risk.

I am profoundly disappointed that your government has seen fit to propose a management framework to allow water takings for bottling, going against the wishes of the majority of Ontarians.

I strongly urge the premier. the minister of environment and the entire government cabinet to:

1. Phase out ALL current permits for bottled water facilities
2. Expand the regulatory renew to include ALL water taking permits whatever the use of the water
3. Give communities the right to simply say NO to commercial extraction permits.
4. Ensure that all scientific date from ALL sources is available to the public and is easily accessible. Where research is paid for in full or in part by a commercial undertaking – that must be disclosed when the research is released.
5. Seek free, prior and informed consent of affected Indigenous Peoples and hold public, consultations to determine how to prioritize water use based on the human right to water

S