As a long time Elora resident now living in Toronto, I have time and again turned to your publication to keep up with the happenings of my hometown.
I was both disturbed and dismayed to read Chris Daponte’s editorial criticizing the Friends of Elora Water who celebrated our nation’s birthday in the most patriotic way possible: fighting for our basic human rights.
Perhaps Mr. Dapoint is not aware of Nestle Chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathe’s widely publicized statement that water is not a basic human right. Perhaps he doesn’t feel that it is patriotic to fight to protect our valuable watershed from this corporation.
As anyone who has lived in Centre Wellington knows, ours is a world where water is a way of life. It is the lifeblood of our community and has been since the time of our earliest settlements.
To fight for that way of life is the most patriotic thing that I can imagine on Canada Day and I salute the inspiring townsfolk who participated in this “demonstration”.
I will no longer be turning to this publication for my news as it allows editorials such as this to disgrace it’s pages.
Toronto may be where I live, but Elora is home. I feel confidant in speaking for many of my fellow readers when I say that we hope you reconsider allowing the words of Chris Daponte to appear in your paper and urge the Wellington Advertiser to be more careful in the future regarding who it allows to use the word “we” to represent it.
Sare Kumagai
