Consumer Group Calls on BC Premier to Review Nestlé’s Water Rates to Protect Canada’s Water Supply
BRITISH COLUMBIA — More than 78,000 people across Canada, including more than 35,900 from British Columbia, have signed onto a new petition by SumOfUs.org, a global consumer watchdog – after the BC government announced that it will be charging Nestlé a mere $2.25 per 1 million gallons of clean, drinking water extracted from Canada – to be sold for profit.
VIEW THE PETITION: http://action.sumofus.org/a/bc-bottled-water/
The petition, which has been signed by more than 78,000 people since launching less than a week ago, demands that British Columbian government officials – specifically BC Premier Christy Clark – immediately review Nestlé’s water rates and protect Canada’s water supply by setting a fair price on groundwater extraction.
Earlier this year, British Columbia agreed to introduce water pricing under the new Water Sustainability Act, after more than 100,000 people objected to Nestlé taking of 285 million litres of Canada’s water, without charge . Previously, BC had been the only jurisdiction in Canada without groundwater pricing.
“Christy Clark is selling British Columbians short. At a time when water is in scarce supply globally, it is outrageous that Nestlé can draw limitless amounts of Canada’s natural resources to sell for a huge profit.” explained Liz McDowell, Campaigns Director for SumOfUs.org.
SumOfUs argues that British Columbia’s Water Stability Act’s bare minimum pricing hurts Canadians, and does not even cover the costs of the law’s implementation.Under the current price scheme – which dramatically favors corporate extraction over individual water use – if a Canadian individual were to bottle enough groundwater to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool, they’d would be required to pay more than $180 – but Nestlé would be required to pay less than $7 for the same amount.
“Canada has some of the purest, cleanest and most delicious water in the world — and Nestlé doesn’t think anything of sucking it out of the ground for a pittance and selling it back in a plastic bottle. Nor does the government, apparently. This new pricing structure, which was supposed to fix the problem of freeloading corporations, is even more outrageous at a time when many parts of the world are facing extreme water shortages,” added McDowell.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: http://www.theprovince.com/news/Companies+will+have+groundwater+enough/10791356/story.html
For interviews with SumOfUs.org, please contact Brett Abrams at 516-841-1105 or by email at brett@fitzgibbonmedia.com.
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SumOfUs.org is a global movement of consumers, investors, and workers all around the world, standing together to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable and just path for our global economy.