Minister's Speech

Remarks prepared for:

The Honourable John Gerretsen
Minister of the Environment

Great Lakes Stakeholders Forum
May 6, 2009

I am pleased to be here along with my good friend and colleague the Minister of Natural Resources, Donna Cansfield.

We are closely connected to the Great Lakes in this province — for many people living in communities located on the lakes this is very real and tangible.  Away from the shores, our connection is sometimes less apparent.

98 per cent of Ontarians live in the Great Lakes basin. 

All of our actions within the watershed have an effect on the lakes.

Over the past year and a half, I've learned that people who really understand what is happening to the lakes, including our ministry scientists, are increasingly concerned. 

They are concerned about invasive species like zebra and quagga mussels complicating the dynamics of nutrients like phosphorus in the near shore. 

Concerned about artificial water level regulation increasing the loss of habitat for native species. 

They are concerned about chemicals of emerging concern – including flame retardants and pharmaceuticals. 

They see atmospheric deposition of pesticides and other chemicals used in places as far away as the South-Eastern US and China.

And they are particularly concerned about understanding the long-term effects of climate change on water quality and quantity.

People get the importance of protecting our water resources from such threats.¹

We all understand that clean water and healthy lakes are essential to a high quality of life. 

But, for a very long time, we’ve been taking these resources for granted — probably because we do have a wealth of lakes, rivers and streams in this country.

We need to stop acting as if our water is an infinite resource — because it’s not.

Pressures on our Great Lakes continue to grow.

This is why we are asking you to help ensure that we've got the priorities right for our Great Lakes work.

I want to recognize that there is a tremendous amount of work that has been going on. 

Conservation Authorities continue to be on the front lines of watershed protection.

Hundreds of people have committed years of hard work to committees under the Remedial Action Plans and Lake-wide management programs. 

Our Cities are taking leadership roles individually and collectively.

Yesterday, along with my colleagues Minister Cansfield and Minister Dombrosky I attended a Great Lakes St. Lawrence Cities Initiative Summit hosted by Mayor David Miller and the current Chair, Mayor Peterson.

We are continuing to work collaboratively with the Cities, and with input from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, as well as other partners.

There are important actions cities need to take to protect the Great Lakes — municipal wastewater is perhaps one of the most critical issues when it comes to Great Lakes water quality.

We want to make sure that all of our efforts and commitments are aligned with a common purpose and that we have our fundamental priorities right. 

“Healthy Great Lakes, Strong Ontario” — the discussion paper you have all received, will help guide our work.

This paper has been posted on the Environmental Registry for public review.  We’re inviting comment until May 16.

We’ve held four stakeholder engagement sessions with our partners at the ministries of Natural Resources and Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

We’ve outlined five goals and nine strategies in the discussion paper that we think will help us do that. 

It’s fortunate we have such a strong group of partners — organizations and individuals who care about the Great Lakes … who understand our unique circumstances and the challenges we face … and who have the skills and commitment to make a difference.

I’m pleased to note the participation of representatives from Aboriginal communities, who feel such a special connection to the ecosystem. 

We also need to engage other stakeholders who perhaps have not been fully involved, such as industry — we need their input as well.

In all of our four stakeholder engagement sessions around the Lakes we had enthusiastic participation from all our stakeholders.

The told us they need to see this consultation process result in real actions …

And what they said reflected the unique nature of our challenge.  The Lakes are so big and so diverse — we can’t take a blanket approach when dealing with the unique challenges of each Lake but at the same time, we also have to look at a Basin-wide approach to many of our challenges.

One of the key messages we heard was the need to ensure our priorities focus on protection of the Great Lakes not only for their ecological value but also for the critical role they play in our social and economic wellbeing. 

We have work to do in educating people on the importance of the Great Lakes and help Ontarians appreciate what this resource means … for our health, our economic prosperity, for drinking water, recreation and industry.

So many people; businesses, industry, tourism, fishing, shipping, rely on the Lakes.

We need to account for the economic value of all these benefits and how they underpin every aspect of our economy.

In protecting our Great Lakes, we are working to ensure the long-term strength and competitiveness of our entire province and nation.

We need to better understand the economic value and the payback on investments in the Great Lakes to Ontario — to our cities and communities basin-wide.

A recent study by the Brookings Institute suggests that investment in Great Lakes restoration on the US side leads to three-fold returns.

Yesterday, at the Cities Summit I was pleased to announce that Ontario is working on a proposal for an economic study to focus on our province.

We need to know how we have benefited from past investments and what the pay back will be for future investments

This information will help us make good investments and build a strong, green economy and a healthy Great Lakes environment.

Our neighbours to the south, and in particular the new President, clearly understand that.  There is strong momentum for protection of the Great Lakes from that administration.

I’m also hopeful that there is an emerging understanding by our own federal government of a need for renewed commitment.

We know the challenges are great but I believe the time is right to forge a new direction.

None of us in this room are new to the Great Lakes challenges but we do want to bring new energy and perspective.

Today’s session and the stakeholder consultations around the Lakes are intended to invigorate a new conversation, so that as a province we are better informed and able to represent Ontarians’ real priorities at various negotiations and discussion as we go forward.

We've had a series of agreements focussed on Great Lakes protection over the years

2009 marks the 100th Anniversary of the Boundary Waters Treaty — a cause for celebration on both sides of the border.

It is critical that we continue to build on the good work that has been done on both sides of the border, through the Boundary Waters Treaty and through the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Sustainable Water Resources Agreement (the Annex) while recognizing the new challenges and new realities of protecting the Great Lakes.

Under the Canada-Ontario Agreement we have been working for more than 30 years with our federal partners to improve wastewater management, clean up Areas of Concern and restore fish and wildlife and their habitats.

We have made progress under the past COA agreements … two areas of concern have been delisted, one is an area in recovery.  We are very close to completing actions in a number of the other areas of concern.

Toxic contaminant levels like those for PCBs and Dioxin, from the past legacy of dirty industrial uses, have declined in Lake Ontario, the St. Lawrence River and throughout the Great Lakes.

We recently released Ministry of Environment’s first ever Water Quality Report for the province.

It shows we are making progress on some fronts — levels of PCBs and mercury are declining in the Great Lakes. 

But it also points to areas where there is much more work to be done.

Findings from the Report are going to help us base our actions on the best available science — identify emerging problems and improve existing programs to protect our water or, where needed, develop new ones.

What we hear from our discussions will help us to be more effective in negotiations with our federal partners on a renewed Canada-Ontario Agreement and on a renewed Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement with the U.S.

We need our federal government to play a major role in Great Lakes protection.

Healthy Great Lakes, Strong Ontario.

It’s a simple as that. We can’t have one without the other.

We have to start acting as true custodians of this great resource; we have to start thinking within our watershed.

Let’s use our work together to find vital and positive solutions that will restore and protect the Great Lakes today, build a strong and prosperous economy for Ontario and sustain these precious resources for future generations.

I look forward to hearing more about your discussions at this forum.

Thank you.

-30-

Back to Speeches