Community & Labour Action

Canada: Nestlé decision anxiously awaited

The Guelph Mercury. -

It's unlikely the Ministry of the Environment will be criticized for rushing its decision on an application by Nestlé Waters Canada to increase the amount of water it can draw for bottled water from its Aberfoyle well.

After all, the ministry has been mulling the matter since at least the middle of last year when Nestlé expressed its interest to up its water draw allowance at the site from two million litres per day to 3.6 million litres daily.

Nestle's last permit was to expire last June but has thrice been extended to allow for the province's review of this application. The ministry has articulated that its review is "extensive" and both company and opponent materials submitted as part of this process are allowed by all stakeholders to be voluminous.

Nestlé indicated it believes the review will be concluded this month and a decision on its application will be received by April 18.

Let's hope those estimates hold water -- pardon the pun. If they don't, the public, the company and others should question whether the ministry has the will or the resources to do this work effectively and in a timely matter. Many eyes are watching this case but the waiting game associated with it are -- or should be -- threatening to make the ministry's pace a political matter.