The following is a note from Beth Lorimer, Ecological Justice Program Coordinator for Kairos Canada.
I am passing along an action alert from our friends at Wellington Water Watchers:
In January 2025, BlueTriton (formerly Nestlé) closed their doors for good in Ontario.
Now another company, White Wolf Property Management, a company of Ice River has purchased both the Aberfoyle and the Hillsburgh sites of BlueTriton's former operations. Wellington Water Watchers has now learned that they have applied for a permit to take water with the intent for water bottling.
As Water Watchers prepared to respond to a new application by this company, they noticed that on Wednesday July 2, the provincial government quietly posted a proposal to the Environmental Registry to change a hard won regulation that would ensure that water taking permits are not a transferable asset. The current requirement that new owners must apply for a new Permit to Take Water (PTTW) is essential to maintaining public trust and environmental integrity.
According to Ontario’s Guide to Permit to Take Water Application Form, the Ministry is required to cancel a permit held by a previous owner upon the transfer of property ownership, and the new owner must apply anew. This process ensures proper review of:
- The purpose of the water taking;
- Potential impacts on local hydrology, wetlands, ecosystems, and drinking water supplies;
- Public engagement and transparency;
- Potential monopoly or near-monopoly in water bottling permits.
Water Watchers collective objections are based on well-documented concerns about climate resilience, groundwater sustainability, environmental justice, Indigenous rights, and public opinion. Proposing that Water Taking Permits are a transferable asset in this time of increasing threats to water security and from the ever deepening impacts and uncertainty of climate chaos is reckless and irresponsible.
Take a moment to let the Ontario Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks know that water taking permits are not transferable assets.
Thanks,
Beth Lorimer
Ecological Justice Program Coordinator
