I am deeply opposed to…

I am deeply opposed to approving Triton Waters Canada Holdings Inc. application for a 10-year renewal of Nestle’s former permit to take water for bottling in Wellington County.

The local community continues to raise significant concerns with this project for the same reasons when Nestle Waters Canada was the operator. First water is a public good and should not be for sale as a commodity. Water is taken without the consent of First Nations and despite a cease-and-desist order issued two years ago (June 7, 2019) by the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Council, the traditional leadership of Six Nations on the Grand.

It is unacceptable to me that the bottling plant in Aberfoyle will continue to package water in single use plastic bottles -- millions of them every day – half of which result in landfill or litter. Single use plastic has a heavy carbon footprint in its life-cycle from production to distribution, and breaks down into microplastics, a growing threat to wildlife and to human health.

The continued extraction of first water for bottling and commercial sale is antithetical to the fact that clean water is a human right. There should be no renewal of Nestles former water bottling permit because it will benefit a few investors while costing the entire local community and generations to come.