Wellington Water Watchers (WWW) are joining with other advocacy groups from across the continent for a virtual rally challenging the bottled water industry.
The online rally is on Thursday at 7 p.m. and can be RSVP’d to here.
A press release from the WWW says they and five other organizations—based out of US communities where Nestlé takes water—are asking regulators and legislators to take a closer look at Nestlé’s sale of its North American operations to a private equity firm.
Last month, Nestlé announced its water bottling business in Canada and the US were sold to One Rock Capital partners in a multi-billion dollar deal. This includes the Aberfoyle operation south of Guelph.
“This sale, for an estimated $4 billion would be a massive private transfer of ‘water wealth’ an especially ominous development in light of Wall Street’s accelerating interest in ‘water futures’ trading,” the press release says.
There is a current moratorium on new or expanded permits for water taking for bottling but this expires April 1.
In a statement, WWW chair Rob Case called on Jeff Yurek, Ontario Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks, to extend this moratorium and to not allow any active permits to transfer to the new company.
“As residents across the continent are now calling for Nestle’s existing contracts to end, It’s time for us to engage in the important questions of how groundwater can be stewarded locally, so that we can ensure the protection of these precious waters for future generations,” said WWW executive director Arlene Slocombe in a press release.
