Minister's Speech

Remarks prepared for:

The Honourable John Gerretsen
Minister of the Environment

At the Grand River Watershed Water Forum
“Reflecting Change – Mirrored in the Water”
GRCA Administration Centre in Cambridge
September 19, 2008

(Check against delivery)

Thank you Mike (Hancock – Mayor of Brantford) for that kind introduction.

I’m glad to be here at the 8th annual Grand River Watershed Water Forum. 

I want to thank you for the invitation to speak to you today.

Just about one year ago, our Premier appointed me Minister of the Environment.

I was proud to take on this very important role and responsibility.  

To me, one of the best things about having this job is the opportunity to meet and talk with people who are passionate about protecting and improving our environment.

Whether the issue is climate change, land protection or sustaining our valuable water resources, we are truly fortunate in this province to have so many dedicated and knowledgeable individuals helping us in our efforts to build strong and healthy communities.

That’s evident from the success of this water forum.

Every year, it has grown in size and reputation and it’s now considered one of the pre-eminent gatherings of water experts. 

This is the place to hear about advances in watershed protection, water quality, conservation, new technologies and science — all the leading initiatives that are so critical to sustaining and protecting our water.

Water protection has been a top priority for our government since the beginning

From all the work done on bringing forward our Clean Water Act … to the ongoing protection efforts of the Grand River Conservation Authority throughout the watershed … you are valued partners in our efforts.

Your theme “Reflecting Change – Mirrored in the Water” highlights how so many of the environmental challenges we are facing — including but not limited to climate change — are affecting our precious water resources.

Many people may look at the geography of our province and see the Great Lakes, the vast numbers of rivers and lakes, and not realize that our water is vulnerable.

And although we are blessed with plenty, our fresh water is not an unlimited resource.  We have to do everything we can to sustain and protect it.

In fact, only one per cent of the water in the Great Lakes is renewed each year.

So, in the face of a great many pressures on our water — from population growth, climate change, pollution and invasive species — we know we have to continue to take strong action to preserve and protect what is so essential to our quality of life.

Of course, I know I’m preaching to the choir. 

And that’s one of the reasons this forum is so important.  You are on the front lines in our efforts to safeguard Ontario’s water.

So today, along with thanking all of you for all the great work that’s been done I want to highlight some of the major achievements that have taken place over the past year.

Today, I am releasing my 2008 report on drinking water.

This is the second Minister’s annual report on Ontario’s drinking water.

I think it is especially fitting to present it for the first time at this forum of water experts who have been so instrumental in our efforts to provide safe, clean drinking water.

I’d like to provide you with the highlights — and the report will be posted on our website.

I mentioned the work that’s been done on the Clean Water Act.  This is, of course, the centrepiece in our ongoing efforts to protect local sources of drinking water.

Our government made a commitment to implement all 121 of Justice O’Connor’s recommendations.

I’m proud to say that has been done.

Now, we are moving ahead with getting communities started on preparing their plans.

The chairs of the 19 local sources protection committees have been appointed and the approximately 300 members of the various committees are hard at work across the province. 

I want to emphasize this point.

It represents a real shift in the way we are protecting drinking water sources in this province.  We’ve put in place a local process where these committees will be evaluating potential threats to both water quality and water quantity.  They will be developing mandatory risk management plans to address those threats.

I like to think that there are well over 300 people in communities across the province from outside government who are engaged with us in this work.

These committees were able to get a running start thanks to the great information provided to them by Ontario’s Conservation Authorities.

Our government provided a total of $120 million over the past four years to support this work.  The final investment of $23.25 million — delivered in March of this year, completed that funding commitment.

Lake Erie Source Protection Region, for which the Grand River Conservation Authority is the lead, received more than $4.2 million for capacity building and $4.5 million to undertake watershed characterization and develop water budgets.

Another $7.2 million was provided to the conservation authority and municipalities in the region to support the development of assessment reports and source protection efforts in the region.

We also listened and responded to farmers and small rural property owners with financial assistance for early actions to protect Ontario’s drinking water sources.

We allocated $7 million in 2007-2008 for this work.

We will continue to support rural Ontarians in protecting drinking water sources through the Ontario Drinking Water Stewardship Program with $7 million per year over the next three years, for a total of $28 million.

I want to acknowledge the Grand River Conservation Authority for the great “on-the-ground” protection efforts that have been happening throughout the watershed — building fences to keep cattle contained, restoring wetlands and planting trees for wind breaks and to absorb run-off.

In fact, you were first in getting this program up and running.

 I would like to recognize the great work of Tracy Ryan and other staff working under the leadership of Paul Emmerson.

You are “best in class” in the delivery of this program.

According to the farmers and property owners who are involved in these projects, they can already see the difference that their efforts are making.

In fact, in 2007-2008, the Lake Erie Source Protection Region received close to $600,000 from the Ontario Drinking Water Stewardship Program.

The GRCA is flowing this money locally to property owners in their watershed for activities like well decommissioning and upgrading, septic system inspections and upgrades, and reviews of business operations and practices.

All these activities go towards helping prevent pollution in the first place.

Additionally, the GRCA was awarded almost $35,000 for other projects to help in upgrading and decommissioning abandoned wells on its own property.

It’s good to see this funding doing what it is intended to do.

Despite the great work in this region by the Grand River Conservation Authority and others, I know we have more work to do to protect the Grand River.

I was recently in Guelph and had the opportunity to hear about the excellent work the City has been doing to optimize their wastewater system and eliminate bypasses into the Grand, which I understand you’ll be hearing about later today.

My ministry has been working closely with other municipalities to make sure they are doing all they can to minimize bypasses.

Prevention is the first step in ensuring we have safe, high-quality water

However, if for any reason we find that contamination has occurred, my annual report outlines just how effectively the safety net — a key part of Justice O’Connor’s recommendations — is working.

When elevated levels of lead were detected in drinking water in homes we took swift action and put into place our Lead Action Plan. 

It protects the health of people who are most vulnerable, children and pregnant women.

We have also put regulations in place that impose environmental penalties of up to $100,000 per day on industries that pollute Ontario’s water. 

This year marked the issuing of the first-ever environmental penalty under the “You Spill, You Pay” legislation.   We are sending a clear signal that we will not tolerate polluters.

I had the opportunity to meet and chat with our Environmental Enforcement Officers recently at the local ministry office in Guelph. 

A big part of their job involves outreach to the business community.  And that makes sense.

While we will track down and fine industries that spill on land or water, the goal is to stop it from happening in the first place.

My report also outlines our government’s broader water strategy.

Many of the issues surrounding drinking water protection are closely tied to a wide range of environmental priorities our government is tackling.

Our top environmental priority is, without a doubt, climate change.

We are stepping forward to protect Ontario’s future water quality and quantity in the face of this critical challenge. 

Under Go Green: Ontario’s Action Plan on Climate Change, we’ve set ambitious but realistic targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions below 1990 levels — six per cent by 2014, 15 per cent by 2020.

We’ve appointed an Expert Panel on Climate Change Adaptation, led by world-renowned climate change scientists, to provide us with practical advice on adaptation strategies to address climate change in our communities and on our ecosystem.

When the Panel recently looked at our source water protection program, they saw an opportunity to take advantage of its risk management approach and strengthen climate change adaptation measures.

Ministry staff are now working to build that advice into the implementation going forward.

We have also negotiated climate change adaptation commitments into our 2007 Canada-Ontario Agreement Respecting the Great Lakes Ecosystem and pressed for inclusion of climate change adaptation in any future renewal of the Canada-U.S. Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.

When it comes to protecting our Great Lakes waters, we need to work across borders and with our partners at every level, including other provincial ministries.

That is why I recently signed, along with Donna Cansfield, Minister of Natural Resources, and Leona Dombrowsky, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, a Memorandum of Cooperation between the Ontario government and the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative.

It’s good news for Ontario — for our families and for all those communities relying on a healthy and sustainable Great Lakes Basin far into the future.

This Memorandum of Cooperation will give municipalities an integral role in providing Ontario with input on the future of the Canada-Ontario Agreement (COA) Respecting the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem.

The COA agreement has been a good vehicle for coordinating actions by the federal and provincial governments to clean up and restore the Great Lakes.

In addition, our Safeguarding and Sustaining Ontario’s Water Act implements our commitments under the Great lakes Sustainable Water Resources Agreement.  It includes bans on new or increased diversions of water from one Great Lakes watershed to another.

Along with that we implemented Water Taking Charges for highly consumptive water users who will now pay for the water they use.

It’s an incentive to support the move to greater conservation of our water resources.

That is really at the heart of improving water management — using it more wisely.  My ministry will also be working over the next year on a provincial water conservation program, another one of our commitments under the Great Lakes agreement.

We are working on many fronts to protect and sustain our drinking water sources, our Great Lakes, great rivers and great watersheds like the Grand.

(pause)

We have embarked on a historic transformation on how we protect water in Ontario.

Today, we are one of the leading jurisdictions in North America when it comes to safe and protected drinking water.

The foundation of all our efforts rests on a shared responsibility to protect our water.

Our partnerships … with conservation authorities like Grand River, with municipalities, farmers, environmental groups, business, industry and people in communities across the province … these are the most valuable assets we have in helping us create strong and healthy communities.

We will continue to listen, find common ground and work together to find solutions.

And I want to encourage all of you to continue the great work you are doing — day in and day out.

Together, we are making Ontario cleaner, healthier and more sustainable — for all of us today.

And most importantly, for our children and our grandchildren.

Thank you.

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