Minister's Speech

Remarks prepared for:

The Honourable John Gerretsen
Minister of the Environment

World Water Day
March 20, 2008 

(Check against delivery)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am pleased to speak to the members of this house today about an important global initiative for the environment and for human health.

This Saturday, March 22nd, is World Water Day; an international day of action that grew out of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development.

Mr. Speaker, clean, safe water is essential for life.

Water is a critical factor in raising people out of poverty, for preventing disease, for sustainable development and for a healthy environment

Here in Ontario, it’s sometimes easy for us to forget how such a basic requirement can be out of reach for so many people.

Yet in so many places in the world — the lack of drinkable water is a constant reality.  

Each year, millions of people, many of them children, die from water-related disease.

The World Health Organization estimates that 80 per cent of all sickness in the world is caused by unsafe water and sanitation.

And every day, women around the world spend many hours collecting water from distant and often polluted sources.

This lack of clean water and adequate sanitation affects so many areas of life — socially and economically — and most dramatically, people’s health.

Protecting and sustaining our water has been a hallmark of this government since the beginning. 

From protecting drinking water … to better protections for the Great Lakes, to penalties for companies that spill … we’ve gone through a historic transformation on how we protect water in this province.

We have passed the Clean Water Act and implemented all of Justice O’Connor’s recommendations on Walkerton — ensuring our drinking water is protected from source to tap.

Right now, 19 Source Protection Committees are meeting regularly to begin the process of source water protection.  That’s 300 people working locally to ensure that our drinking water is protected now and in the future.  We have committed $120 million in this process to date.

We are very serious about improving and protecting our water, but we can’t do it alone.

We have many partners, municipalities, conservation authorities, environmental organizations and grassroots community groups, along with different governments helping us get this important work done.

We are working with the federal government, Quebec and neighbouring U.S. states to better manage and conserve our shared Great Lakes waters.
And now, we are moving forward with better protections for Lake Simcoe.

In the face of climate change, pressures on water are going to continue to grow.

That’s why we have an aggressive and integrated approach to tackling climate change in Ontario, including the establishment of an expert panel to advise me on climate change adaptation.

Mr. Speaker, our supply of freshwater is one of the great advantages we have in Ontario.  But, it is not an infinite resource.

We must be vigilant in protecting and sustaining our water.  We must not take it for granted. 

Practicing conservation, whether it’s at home, or in our businesses, will be the single most important action we can each take to ensure our children and grandchildren have a clean, strong and healthy place to live and grow.

I encourage all Ontarians to mark World Water Day on March 22nd with their own pledge to help conserve and preserve our water.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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