On January 13th, Ian McLean (President & CEO, Greater Kitchener Waterloo Chamber of Commerce) and Greg Durocher (Cambridge Chamber of Commerce) submitted the following letter to Regional Council to convey the urgent concerns of the Region’s business community regarding the emerging water crisis. This correspondence is intended to ensure decision-makers fully understand the economic, investment, and growth implications currently being experienced by employers across Waterloo Region, and to help inform timely, coordinated action that restores confidence, enables responsible growth, and protects the long-term prosperity of our community.
Rest assured, both Chambers will be keeping local decision makers feet to the fire to avoid finger pointing and come up with solutions to address both the immediate crisis and the long term sustainability for Waterloo Region.
Chair Redman/Regional Council:
Our Chambers are very concerned about the water crisis that has emerged over the last number of weeks. Our membership comprises over 3000 businesses across Waterloo Region.
There are a multitude of concerns that we have been fielding from our members since this issue came to light in December and we are compelled to write this letter so that local decision makers are aware of them as you consider next steps to address this serious situation.
Waterloo Region has been a community of choice for both business investment and new residents for decades. Today, the shingle over the Region would have to say, “closed for new business”, given the development pause in place.
We all know that this is untenable and unacceptable.
On December 4th, 2025, confidence in our water supply came into question. The regional update received January 6th, 2026 unfortunately left our community with as many questions and concerns as it provided answers.
The questions and concerns include:
Both the Cambridge Chamber and the Greater Kitchener Waterloo Chamber of Commerce are the voice for the Region’s business community, and our members have 4 key messages to deliver to Regional Council as you consider next steps.
1. We need to fix this and fix it quickly. Time is not on our side, no matter how we got into this grave situation; this is not the time for pointing fingers. This is a time for transparency, communication and relying on the most knowledgeable technical experts we can source.
2. We need provincial leadership. It is clear that we need the province to step in and assist both with expertise and funding. The community will need confidence in both the data regarding the scope of the problem, the possible solutions and the province is needed for this and to fund the project(s).
3. We need to move forward – not back. An immediate solution in the short-term is essential, but we also need to turn to the longer-term implications of our community needs with a clear plan to deliver.
4. Lift the Pause! It is important that we send a clear signal to the community, builders and investors that we have this issue in a positive place, that solutions are available and that the commitment to resolve is at hand. We cannot afford missed opportunities in local retention, expansion and/or foreign investment.
Later this week, the Community Scorecard – “Vision One Million – Are We Ready?” – will be released. It will highlight the many ways that our community needs to prepare for growth.
Nothing is more foundational than having assurance for our short, medium- and long-term water needs to ensure our growth is managed appropriately and we are a successful growing community – Economically, socially and environmentally.
As always, our Chambers look forward to working with the community and Regional Council to get through this very serious crisis.
Respectfully,
Ian McLean
President & CEO
Greater Kitchener Waterloo Chamber of Commerce
Greg Durocher
President & CEO
Cambridge Chamber of Commerce
