From: brewnoser2@gmail.com   
      
   What's incredible in these stories is the fact that Canada's politicians are   
   still saying that Canada is NOT selling its water - even though not protected   
   under NAFTA.   
      
   And the $ AMOUNT that Nestle pays for a million litres in Ontario, BC and   
   Quebec.   
      
   Is this a bad joke?   
   __________________________________________   
   TORONTO — The Canadian Press - Friday, Sep. 23, 2016   
      
   Wynne urges changes to Ontario's water bottling practices   
      
      
   The bottled water industry in Ontario is facing renewed government scrutiny   
   after a small township was outbid by multinational giant Nestle in its attempt   
   to purchase a well to secure water supply for its growing community.   
      
   Premier Kathleen Wynne said Friday her government will look for ways to put   
   community needs ahead of bottled water corporations.   
      
   “As we look at the water bottling industry, that has to be a question   
   because we’re talking about what we could argue is our most precious   
   resource,” she said.   
      
   “There is much pressure on our water, so as we have this discussion about   
   our water, the status of and the treatment of water bottling companies, that   
   needs to be taken into consideration.”   
      
   Wynne’s comments came after The Canadian Press reported on Nestle’s   
   purchase of a well near Elora from a privately owned company.  Nestle said the   
   new site would supplement “future business growth” and support its   
   main-production site in nearby    
   Aberfoyle, where the company has a bottling plant that employs over 300 people.   
      
   The Township of Centre Wellington Mayor Kelly Linton said they wanted to   
   purchase the well to keep its water supply “safe” from commercial water   
   taking long into the future, and to give the fast-growing community “control   
   of our water source.”   
      
   The New Democrats said that allowing a corporation to pump out water and sell   
   it across Canada and beyond while a community is lacking water makes no sense.   
      
   “The danger is you’ll have private companies squatting on water rights,   
   effectively denying citizens access to their water unless they pay a   
   ransom,” said NDP environment critic Peter Tabuns.   
      
   In Ontario, municipalities, mining companies and golf courses — in addition   
   to the water-bottling companies — are allowed to take a total of 1.4   
   trillion litres out of the surface and ground water supplies every day.   
      
   In her mandate letters to her cabinet, released Friday, Wynne tells   
   Environment Minister Glen Murray that “immediate improvements are needed   
   when it comes to water bottling practices, particularly in the face of climate   
   change, the increasing demands    
   on water resources by a growing population and concerns about water   
   security.”   
      
   It’s time to separate bottled water companies from the many other sectors   
   that have water-taking permits, including mining and construction, Wynne told   
   reporters.   
      
   “It’s not good enough from my perspective to say there’s lots of   
   industries that need water,” she said.   
      
   “Water bottling is a different kind of industry and we need to treat it   
   differently.”   
      
   Nestle, which has 2,500 employees in Ontario, has said it is prepared to pay   
   more if rates were increased, but only if all companies with water-taking   
   permits face the higher fees.   
      
   “We fully agree that all groundwater users should pay their fair share to   
   fund the management of our water resources and all users must be treated   
   equitably,” the company said.   
      
   Wynne’s mandate letter also told the environment minister to work with the   
   finance minister on pricing options for water used by the bottled water   
   industry.   
      
     (ಥ_ಥ)        !!                                                         
   Ontario charges $3.71 for every million litres of water, compared with $2.50   
   in British Columbia and $70 in Quebec, the two other provinces with major   
   bottled water operations.        (ಥ_ಥ)        !!       
      
   But Wynne made it clear she wants to see bottled water companies pay more for   
   the water they take.   
      
   “One of the reasons I want to make sure we move cautiously on this is I   
   believe the rules need to be changed around water taking for bottled water   
   companies,” she said.   
      
   “I think we have to look very closely at what those companies are paying,   
   what they’re allowed to take, and that’s exactly the work the ministry of   
   environment and climate change is doing right now.”   
      
   Meanwhile, Nestle is allowed to keep taking up to 3.6 million litres of water   
   a day for bottling from its well in Aberfoyle, near Guelph, Ont., while the   
   government reviews its application to renew its water-taking permit, which   
   expired in July.   
      
   Wynne noted Nestle had not been granted a renewal yet, nor had it been given   
   approval for a pump test to determine water quantity and quality at the   
   Middlebrook well, which she suggested is being held up by the review of water   
   taking permits.   
      
   “I think we need to, not just as a government but as a society, look at the   
   way we use bottled water — of course there are situations where bottled   
   water is necessary — but we need to look at what our expectation is of these   
   companies and how we    
   can put some different limits around it,” she said.   
      
   A spokeswoman for Nestle said the company agrees that it needs to pay “its   
   fair share as should all groundwater users.”   
      
   “With only five per cent of permitted users paying 100 per cent of the cost,   
   we believe it is important to look at all water users in Ontario to ensure the   
   protection of the resource for future generations,” Jennifer Kerr said in an   
   email to The    
   Canadian Press.   
      
   Nestle’s decisions are driven by data and science, Kerr said.   
      
   The Canadian Bottled Water Association wants all commercial operations with   
   water-taking permits to be treated equally under the new rules, and said it   
   would be “unfair” to single it out for different treatment.   
      
   “It has to include all users,” said executive director Elizabeth   
   Griswold.  “What would be quite interesting is to take a closer view, and   
   education of the public, on who’s taking the rest of the water, who’s   
   paying and who is not.”   
   _________________________________   
      
   So our water "is not for sale", eh?     
      
   Nestle Continues to Dominate the US Bottled Water Industry   
   http://marketrealist.com/2015/09/nestle-continues-dominate-us-bo   
   tled-water-industry/   
      
   Nestle bottles millions of litres of Canadian water — and pays nothing   
   Billion-dollar company extracting B.C.’s drinking water for free, then   
   selling it back to Canadians   
   http://o.canada.com/news/nestle-bottled-water-cost   
      
      
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   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)