Dear Minister of the Environment, the Honourable Glenn Murray
re. the impending Middlebook Permit to Take Water and possible subsequent Nestle takeover of said permit, near the Centre Wellington, Ontario
In this, the twenty first century, why would citizens and their elected Council in the Township of Centre Wellington, as well as the Ministry of the Environment for Province of Ontario support this industry which is entirely unsustainable both locally and globally, and yet contributes so significantly to the degradation of the world’s environment? For all the evidence I have looked at, and company bravura notwithstanding, packaged water is essentially an unnecessary commodity. Packaged water is a moribund product: either it stops or we will swamp ourselves in plastic pollution: Pacific Garbage parch at least the size of Texas.
So what are the benefits to granting this permit to this company? This permit will provide negligible employment for the community: two part time employees. The only answer I can think of is taxes and money: money for the company itself and the power that ensues, although with apparent largesse they will buy us infrastructure improvements. And taxes. There is another way, a better industry to fulfill the tax issue.
Peter Skoggard
44 Mill Street West
Elora, Ontario
Peter Skoggard