‘It’s up to us’: Kitchener MPP calling for pause on industrial water-taking permits
Posted Mar 4, 2026 06:20:49 AM.
Last Updated Mar 4, 2026 06:20:56 AM.
The MPP for Kitchener Centre, Aislinn Clancy, has penned a letter to Ontario’s Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, asking for a moratorium on new industrial and commercial water-taking permits.
The letter comes as a response to the region’s recent pause on development as it responds to the ongoing water supply problems in the Mannheim Service Area, which includes Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, Wilmot and more.
Clancy, who’s also the deputy leader of the Green Party of Ontario, said her constituents are very concerned about the region’s water capacity issue.
“The impact is widespread, whether you’re somebody living in Shingletown watching wells and ponds dry up, or you’re somebody in the construction sector or the development sector,” said Clancy.
“We care a lot, and it’s important that we get the Ford government to be good partners, because they’re way up in Toronto, and they don’t care about climate change, and they don’t care about long-term water-demand management. It’s up to us. That’s what people want from me.”
In Clancy’s letter, she gives examples of water-taking permit applications in Waterloo Region that could put a significant strain on aquifers.
One area of significant concern to Clancy is the Hallman Pit, a gravel pit on Witmer Road, the owners of which have applied for a water-taking permit that would allow them to take up to 9.7 million litres of water per day from aquifers in Wilmot Township.
North of Cambridge, the owners of the Glen Christie Quarry have had an application for water taking under review since 2024, looking to take 23.6 million litres of water per day, equal to enough to support 10,000 residents, according to Citizens for Safe Ground Water.
“At the provincial level, they think of everything as red tape. We know that some good planning is important,” said Clancy.
“Seventy per cent of Canada was in drought conditions last year. We’ve heard from local farmers that they never had to irrigate in the past, and now they have to. This is our food sovereignty, this is the future of our water.”
Moving forward, Clancy hopes the province can work with the regional government in creating a sustainable plan for permits.
