As BC declares a state of emergency because of wildfires, Nestlé still pays just $2.25 for one million litres of the province’s precious groundwater. During his campaign, Premier Horgan promised to conduct a review of BC’s water rates to protect BC’s water from corporate greed.

However, nothing has happened yet which means Nestlé and other corporations continue to rake in massive profits while BC residents deal with water restrictions to combat the ever-increasing drought conditions.

Not only that, but current water rates apply to all industries. Meaning dirty fracking operations can use billions of BC’s fresh water for next to nothing while polluting this precious resource.

It’s time to tell Premier Horgan and the Minister in charge, Doug Donaldson, to protect BC from corporate profiteering.

Tell BC Premier Horgan and Minister Donaldson: protect our water from Nestlé’s greed and review water rates now.

SumOfUs has been working to protect BC’s water from Nestlé’s greed for years. Close to 400,000 SumOfUs members like you signed a viral petition that pushed the issue of water protection to the forefront in BC and forced the previous corporate-backed Liberal government to take action on water rates in BC.

And now is the time for the new BC government to take action -- every year, Nestlé makes billions off selling pristine groundwater, while sucking communities around the world dry. While BC sees more and more extreme heat and fire events, protecting our water from corporate profiteering is more important than ever.

Premier Horgan’s NDP government campaigned on a progressive environmental mandate but have yet to come through on their promise to review water rates and protect BC’s water from Nestlé’s greed. A huge outcry now could be the pressure Horgan needs to take immediate action.

We know that, when we work together, we can take on massive corporations like Nestlé -- and win.

Premier Horgan: stop Nestlé’s water grab and review water rates now.

One question that has been asked by SumOfUs members and journalist throughout this campaign is: Will raising the rates change the status of water under NAFTA?

A: In short, no it won't -- which is good news. Freshwater reserves in their natural state are not a commodity and should never be for sale.

Right now companies like Nestle get privileged access to this water. Not only can they take unlimited amounts of groundwater for free, the government doesn't even charge administrative fees that can actually support real stewardship of freshwater resources. Our petition used the word "price" because that's how the BC government talks about water rental rates, and that's the first piece of the change we are fighting for.

It's misleading to suggest that raising the water rates in BC would have any impact on how NAFTA is applied. Right now, provinces across Canada charge water rates up to $140 per million litres of water accessed, compared to just $2.25 in BC. BC is the very last province in the country to start regulating groundwater, and we are calling on the BC government to step it up. And we cannot let them off the hook.

"Raising water volume rents under the new legislation is timely, and will not affect the status of groundwater under NAFTA." - Deborah Curran, University of Victoria Faculty of Law Professor.