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News Release

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For immediate release
April 3, 2007

MCGUINTY GOVERNMENT TAKES ACTION TO PROTECT PROVINCE’S WATER; Introduces Legislation That Would Ban Water Diversions; Implement Conservation Charges

TORONTO — The McGuinty government is protecting provincial water resources for future generations through the introduction of ground-breaking legislation, Environment Minister Laurel Broten and Natural Resources Minister David Ramsay announced today.

The proposed legislation contains two key ideas: enshrining in law a historic agreement that bans diversions from the Great Lakes, and mandating charges for commercial and industrial users for the water they take and use.

“By enacting the terms of this agreement, we are taking a major step forward in conserving and protecting the waters of the Great Lakes Basin for future generations of Ontarians,” said Ramsay. “If passed, the legislation would strengthen the ban on diversions, promote water conservation, reinforce basin-wide environmental standards, and improve science-based decision-making.”

“For the first time in this province, we are proposing to charge the large commercial users of water,” said Broten. “Today we’re sending the message that businesses that benefit from our precious water resources must contribute their fair share toward the costs of managing them.”

The Safeguarding and Sustaining Ontario’s Water Act, would implement the historic Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement, signed by Ontario, Quebec and the eight Great Lake U.S. states in December 2005. The province’s existing ban on diversions of water out of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River, Nelson and Hudson Bay basins would become law under the act. It would also prohibit new or increased diversions of water from one Great Lake watershed to another, subject to strictly regulated exceptions.

Also proposed are measures that would allow the province, following consultation with stakeholders, to charge commercial and industrial users for the water they take and use. Revenue would be used to cover a portion of the province’s costs of managing water resources.

The proposed act will be available on the Environmental Registry for public comment later today at ontario.ca/environmentalregistry. Also posted for public comment is a discussion paper on a framework for water conservation charges.

“Our government takes our stewardship of the Great Lakes and Ontario’s valuable water resources seriously,” said Broten. “We are acting decisively to ensure Ontario’s water is among the best protected in the world.”

Proposing stronger protection for Great Lakes Basin waters and all of Ontario’s water resources is just one way the McGuinty government is working to ensure a healthy natural environment in Ontario. Other examples include: 

  • Passing the Clean Water Act to ensure communities identify potential risks to local water sources and take action to reduce or eliminate risks.
  • Renewing the commitment to work co-operatively with the federal government to improve and protect the health of the Great Lakes Basin ecosystem.
  • Launching Ontario’s first biodiversity strategy to protect the province’s plants and wildlife and the habitats that support them.

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Contact information for media:

For information on water conservation charges:
Anne O’Hagan
Minister Broten’s Office
416-325-5809

For information on the Great Lakes agreement:
Anne-Marie Flanagan
Minister Ramsay’s Office

416-327-0654

 

John Steele
Ministry of the Environment
416-314-6666

Jolanta Kowalski
Ministry of Natural Resources
416-314-2106
Contact information for the general public:
416-325-4000 or 1-800-565-4923/ www.ene.gov.on.ca		  

 

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