Minister's Speech

Notes for remarks by:

The Honourable John Gerretsen
Minister of the Environment

Climate Change Impact on Water Systems
Seminar sponsored by the Walkerton Clean Water Centre

Vaughan, Ontario
Wednesday, September 24, 2008

(Check against delivery)

Thank you, Saad.  (Minister introduced by Saad Jasim, CEO, Walkerton Clean Water Centre.)

Good morning.

I want to thank the Walkerton Clean Water Centre for sponsoring this seminar.

You’ve brought together a distinguished group of scientists, researchers, climate change specialists and policymakers.

These are the people we need to help us deal with issues that are vitally important to the health and quality of life we enjoy in Ontario.

Everyone here knows how much is at stake.

We know that climate change has huge consequences for our water resources and environment … and for many industries that keep Ontario competitive and strong.

We need your work to help protect public health and ensure vital infrastructure continues to meet our needs.

Forums like this facilitate an exchange of ideas that will lead to solutions that will make a real difference to the future of our province.

I’m pleased to tell you Ontario is leading the way in addressing the root cause of climate change.

We’re also putting a high priority on adapting to the effects climate change is already having … and water protection is the key area where we’re focusing our adaptation efforts.

Adaptation is necessary because climate change is already with us. 

The debate is over. 

We’re seeing the effects most clearly on water systems.

I saw an excellent presentation by Dr. Jim Bruce last week, where he clearly showed the impacts on the Great Lakes – reduced ice cover and increased evaporation from the lakes in particular.

This presents us with two clear challenges:

• to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions to prevent the most serious consequences of climate change, and
• to adapt to the effects climate change is already having … and will continue to have.

When it comes to climate change, our government is determined not to lag behind ... we will lead.

That’s what we’re doing with our Go Green Plan, Ontario’s action plan on climate change.

The emphasis is on action ... and we’re acting decisively.

The best example is our aggressive work to phase out the use of coal to produce electricity.

It’s one of the cornerstones of our plan to meet our ambitious Go Green targets – to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Ontario to six per cent below 1990 levels by 2014 … and to 15 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020.

By 2050 – a generation from now – we intend to achieve an 80-per cent reduction from 1990 levels.

Ontario’s targets put us on a leadership footing with jurisdictions such as California, Massachusetts and Germany.

Go Green requires actions on many fronts through many provincial ministries.
 
Reducing energy-related emissions means more than cutting out coal. 

It means making much greater use of clean and renewable energy sources.

It means investing in rapid transit.  MoveOntario 2020 will build 902 kilometres of new or improved rapid transit in urban centres, removing 300 million car trips off our roads and bringing cleaner air for everyone. 

It means investing in the research and development of better, greener technology.

It means embracing the new, green economy.  Our Next Generation of Jobs Fund is providing $1.15 billion to support companies whose products reduce pollution, save energy, make transportation more efficient or help the environment in other ways.

And it means directly engaging individuals, who must make one third of the reductions we need to meet our targets.

We recently launched a new public education campaign called “additup” – you may have seen the commercials, which began last month during the Beijing Olympics. 

“additup” is based on the idea that the actions of one Ontarian can add up to the unstoppable power of many.

Our efforts in Ontario are part of a world-wide effort to address a problem which respects no political or geographical boundaries.

This has led to collaborations like our agreement to create an emissions cap-and-trade program with Quebec … and our decision to join the Western Climate Initiative, a regional trading system involving several US states and four Canadian provinces.

All of our government’s climate change efforts are being coordinated by the new Climate Change Secretariat, which is ensuring we stay on track and meet our targets.

The secretariat reports directly to the Premier, underscoring the priority he gives this issue.

I want to be very clear about another priority of the Premier’s: Putting Ontario at the forefront of climate change adaptation.

This is why the Premier initiated an important national summit on adaptation this past June in Toronto.

We’ve also 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 programs, they saw an opportunity to take advantage of the risk-management approach and strengthen climate change adaptation measures.  Ministry staff are now working to build that advice into the implementation moving forward.

You will hear from ministry staff in just a few minutes how adaptation is becoming an increasingly important factor in drinking water source-protection efforts.

Ministry staff have taken up the challenge with me.  They are tackling this complex issue and taking full advantage of our collective expertise and scientific knowledge.

For example, our staff worked hard to ensure adaptation is built into major agreements and legislation protecting our waters – including the Great Lakes Charter Annex and the 2007 Canada-Ontario Agreement Respecting the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem.

Much of the focus of our adaptation work centres on the Great Lakes.  And for good reason. 

The Great Lakes form the largest system of freshwater lakes in the world.  They account for 70 per cent of drinking water in this province.  And they’re the best indicators of the effects a changing climate.

There’s a big need to keep water and wastewater systems into a state of good repair and making them more resilient to extreme changes.

The ministry has committed to a review of our stormwater policies in light of potential climate change impacts.

It’s one of the most pressing challenges in the Great Lakes … and all waterways we rely upon for safe, clean drinking water.

Cities need to plan differently and take new factors into consideration.

They rely upon the province to provide leadership and we’ve been there for them.

We’ve signed a new memorandum of cooperation with Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities.  We’ve also worked closely with the City of Toronto on its Climate Change Adaptation Plan.

The questions that we’re looking at together include the placement of water intakes and the type and level of treatment provided in these facilities.

We know current treatment technologies are effective in ensuring healthy drinking water.

We also know they must be able to adapt to new challenges to water quality.

Quick technological fixes won’t do the trick.

There’s no way to accurately predict every change coming our way.  Still, we know enough about the effects climate change is already having to do some good science and to begin to plan for the future.

The Ministry of the Environment is in a good position to do some of this work and we have the advantage of world-class scientists guiding our efforts. 

Our scientists have been at the forefront of many of the major environmental issues … but they work best when they have a strong relationship with leading scientists, engineers and policy experts like you.

Together, we can turn knowledge into practical solutions for the benefit of all.

I’m a strong believer in the importance of the work you’ll be discussing today.

It’s vital to protecting the Great Lakes and all provincial waterways.  And it’s helping create a cleaner, healthier future for Ontario.

Thank you.  I wish you a productive seminar …

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