Problematic guidelines

Re: Time for Ontario to protect its water supplies — May 12

The Wellington Water Watchers (WWW) and the Council of Canadians are right to be concerned about new provincial guidelines meant to govern the bottled-water industry.

The new guidelines do increase fees the bottling companies have to pay and extend public consultations on permits to extract water, but do nothing to end plastic waste and pollution or steer the public away from the reliance on bottled water.

From the beginning, the WWW has said its fight with Nestlé has been about more than just hiking fees. They argued that water should be for life, not profit.

The provincial government showed leadership when it shut

coal-burning energy plants, put a price on plastic bags and launched campaigns to encourage people to quit smoking.

It is time for the province to act again, this time to begin the phase out of the bottled-water industry. Tap water provides a safe and suitable option.

For too long, consumers have paid high prices for water packaged in plastic on the misguided notion that they are getting a safer or higherquality product. The result too often is creeks, rivers and public spaces littered with plastic that wasn’t needed in the first place.

The province’s failure to act will see continued squabbles between the industry and communities over rights to groundwater. Bob Burtt Cambridge