Post # 3 - Nestlé: Drain Baby Drain!

Nestlé: Drain Baby Drain!

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Canada, the second largest country in the world is “home to nearly nine percent of the world’s supply of freshwater” (Rubin). There are “over one million lakes” in Canada (Rubin). Environmental issues such as water droughts aren’t necessarily applicable to the country because there is so much freshwater that the country will more than likely never run out. However, with the effects of climate change, Canada’s most valuable resource could play an effect on how water gets distributed. It’s important to realize that many of the country’s lakes and wells are privately owned by multinational corporations. These companies tend to overuse this natural renewable resource. Despite this, the BC provincial government is selling water to companies such as Nestlé Waters Canada for dirt cheap. Nestlé, a company well-known for its delicious snacks and endless amounts of sugary options, pays next to nothing for the water that they drain for the bottling plant in Hope, British Columbia. In 2016, the provincial government passed an updated and refurbished Water Sustainability Act that charges major corporations “$2.25 for every one million litres of water [that] they extract” (CBC). Every year, Nestlé Waters Canada extracts “265 million litres of fresh water” and only pays the province a fee of roughly $600.00 (Fumano). It’s important to realize that the company “is not required to measure and report its water withdrawals to the government” (Fumano). Instead, Nestlé “voluntarily [gives] reports to the District of Hope” (Fumano). These ‘voluntary reports’ and absurd fees, raises some serious questions that need answers. Firstly, how do we know that 265 million litres a year is the accurate calculation of water extraction? If it isn’t, what is the real number of water extraction? Second, if the company and government feel that the fee of $2.25 is ‘fair’, how can a $600 annual fee of water help contribute to water conservation projects or help to fund any green sustainability initiative? The bottom line is that the company is making a fortune from the provinces water supply. Yet, in return, the province is receiving no dividends, except for overpriced water bottles that cost more “than a litre of gasoline” (Fumano). The question that the residents of BC should be asking themselves is, why are we letting this happen?

References:

Fumano, Dan. “Aug. 14, 2013: Nestlé Tapping B.C. Water for Free; Company Takes 265 Million Litres Annually.” Www.theprovince.com, www.theprovince.com/2013 nestlé tapping water free company takes million litres annually/10175100/story.html  

Rubin, Jeff. “Water: Canada's Most Valuable Resource.” The Globe and Mail, The Globe and Mail, 29 Apr. 2018, www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-commentary/water-canadas-most-valuable-resource/article1391659/.

“Nestlé Getting B.C. Water Too Cheaply, Says NDP | CBC News.” CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, 20 Feb. 2015, www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/nestlé-b-c-water-deal-too-cheap-says-ndp-1.2964709.

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