Shelly Lambe and Rick Calhoun of the MOE&CC at a community discussion on a water bottling permit.
About eighty Chisholm Township citizens’s met Thursday night to voice complaints about the process the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, MOE&CC, uses to contact people affected with water taking permits.
People in the area were shocked to hear a permit for a water bottling business had already been granted without public consultation.
Chisholm councillor Susan Major told the crowd that finding out about the granted permit has been a big shock. “We would have turned it down flat.”
MOE&CC supervisor for the north east region Rick Calhoun was on hand. Calhoun says procedure was followed and an email was sent to 2 email addresses, one being correct.
Mayor Leo Jobin was present and asked, if from now on, the ministry could request a confirmation of delivery from the township when sending emails.
Calhoun said he will gather all concerns and suggestions to bring back to the ministry. Calhoun explained the evaluation for the permit was done in Thunder Bay. Calhoun offered some hope to Chisholm residents. “It is possible a consideration will be given for an amendment to the permit. The water director has the authority to amend the permit.”
Mayor Leo Robin says council, worried about infrastructure, has directed the township planner to study the matter. "We need to be prepared.”
Citizen's concerns included the devaluation of property and wells drying up in the area.
People were also worried about trucks used to transport the water could jeopardize the safety of the forty children from the Amish community who walk on Chiswick Line to go to school.
One woman got a big clap when she said “As a ministry dealing with climate change maybe we should be considering to not issue permits for the commercial sale of water to the bottled water industry.”
Helen Norman said she does not see a water bottling business to be any benefit to Chisholm. Norman’s farm which has been in the family for over a hundred years is downstream from Labrecque Spring. “We have to preserve our farmland which is very dependent on that creek. And our neighbour has a well right next to the creek and if the levels are lowered they are going to have problems.”
Organizer Shelly Lambe called on the citizens to demand a public consultation on the project. She will be the lead in gathering signatures on a petition to be sent to the minister of the MOE&CC Glen Murray.
The townspeople are set to meet again to organize and monitor the situation.
In season 2 of the Dragon's Den, Micheal Labrecque pitched the investors for $500,000 to get Labrecque Enterprise Spring Water out of the ground. http://www.cbc.ca/dragonsden/pitches/labrecque-enterprise-spring-water
