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Remarks prepared for:

The Honourable Laurel Broten
Minister of the Environment

The Great Lakes: An Agenda for the Next Decade
An evening public forum on the future of the Great Lakes

Toronto City Hall
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
7:00 P.M.

(Check against delivery)

Good evening and thank you, Ken, for that kind introduction.

Let me start by thanking Pollution Probe staff and volunteers, as well as the Environmental Commissioner’s Office for all your hard work and effort in organizing this evening.

And I thank you all for coming out to participate. Dialogue like this is essential. Your views are vitally important to us.

You know, you often hear Torontonians remark that although they live in a city on a lake, they’d never know it. They don’t have a sense of the lake in spite of its vast beauty right there at the foot of Yonge Street.

Well, I’m not one of those people — mostly because I actually do live very close to Lake Ontario in my wonderful riding of Etobicoke-Lakeshore. The lake is, in fact, very present to me as it is to my family. I love living on the lake and I look forward to exploring the lakeshore with my twin sons as they get older.

But, like you, I am anxious about the future of our Great Lakes. And given where I live and what I do for a living, my concern is both personal and professional.

Every day, I learn more about how the Great Lakes eco-system is changing, mutating — and what we’re doing about it.

It’s troubling to understand that such an amazing asset, such an abundance of fresh water is not at its peak of health. It concerns me that old problems are new again with algae mats once again fouling the beaches of Lake Ontario, Lake Erie and Eastern Georgian Bay.

It concerns me that the natural balance of native food chains is being turned upside down by invasive species.

And of course, a subject that is so very prominent in everyone’s mind today — it greatly concerns me that the Great Lakes are so clearly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

There’s no doubt that the health of the Great Lakes are facing some very real and very serious environmental challenges — that’s why we’re here.

As Minister, I consider myself a steward of Ontario’s environment and I’m very proud to be part of a government that is green.

We are committed to taking real action to protect and improve our water, our air and our land. And we will champion the fight to restore and protect our Great Lakes.

Of course, we all have a role to play in helping protect our air, water and land for our families and for the generations to come. That’s why a dialogue like the one this evening makes sense.

I believe that by coordinating our efforts and working together effectively, we can achieve the objectives of clean, safe water, healthier Great Lakes and a greener, more prosperous Ontario.

En tant que ministre, je suis chargée de protéger l’environnement de l’Ontario et je suis très fière de faire partie d’un gouvernement qui prend au sérieux son rôle de protecteur de l’environnement et qui est résolu à prendre des mesures réelles pour protéger et assainir l’eau, l’air et les sols.

Nous devons tous et toutes faire notre part pour protéger l’air, l’eau et les sols pour nos familles et pour les générations à venir.

Je crois qu’en coordonnant nos efforts et en collaborant de manière efficace, nous pouvons atteindre les objectifs que nous nous sommes fixés : de l’eau propre et salubre, des Grands Lacs en meilleur état et un Ontario plus vert et plus prospère.

This evening though, I want to start by talking about what the McGuinty government is doing in its own right … about our government’s approach to that very large mandate that is ours to tackle — cleaning up the Great Lakes. I want to start by talking to you about the Clean Water Act.

I’m proud to say the Clean Water Act is a first.

This unprecedented piece of legislation was conceived, designed and written to ensure Ontarians have the best protected drinking water in North America.

It is based on the fundamental principle that everyone has a right to safe, clean drinking water.

Our government believes that protecting our water resources is a shared responsibility — and that local communities are in the best position to identify and manage threats to their water supplies.

The Clean Water Act helps ensure our watersheds will be managed sustainably and responsibly in the future, on a sound and scientific basis. It is building on the great work that’s been done by our municipalities and Conservation Authorities.

To give local watershed plans the strongest possible scientific foundation, our government is providing $120 million dollars for communities and their partners to support studies and assessments of their watersheds, to help municipalities undertake water budgets, and ensure they get the science right.

One of the most important new provisions in the Clean Water Act is that it allows us to establish water quality and quantity targets in source protection areas and watersheds within the Great Lakes basin.

Under the provisions of the Clean Water Act, communities along the Great Lakes and throughout the Great Lakes Basin will be actively involved in source protection planning. That planning is going to play an important role in making the Great Lakes ecosystem healthier and more sustainable over the longer term.

Already, we’ve put significant resources toward defining the protection zones around intakes in the municipalities that take water directly out of the lakes. What we learn will be integrated into the source protection studies that are going on for watersheds across the province.

We are seeing progress under the Clean Water Act, but there is a great deal more that needs to be done to protect, preserve and improve the lake water on which so many of us depend.

In my view, this is a critical priority. And I am prepared to do what needs to be done to get us there. I know that I have the support of my Premier and my Cabinet colleagues to help realize our vision.

We are definitely moving in the right direction.

Our government recognizes that to protect our Great Lakes water we need to implement an integrated, cross-government strategy.

For example, our GreenBelt Act, which protects 1.8 million acres of land from urban sprawl is part of the big picture plan to protect our water. So too, are the investments we’ve made in replacing and rehabilitating Ontario’s aging infrastructure.

I know that many of you here tonight are profoundly aware of the need to protect the Great Lakes as a source of drinking water for more than 70 per cent of Ontarians.

It’s now become clear that invasive species and the impact of climate change could very well make our drinking water more difficult and expensive to treat.

In small-town Ontario, our efforts to protect drinking water have been the major story. It seems that people in rural communities can relate more personally to the subject of water.

Needless to say, as a resident of Toronto, I can understand why people in urban areas don’t engage in the same way. Our large municipal water treatment systems do a great job — it’s easy not to think about water and to take it for granted.

But, increasingly, city-dwellers will find we have as much to gain as anyone else from a comprehensive, integrated approach to protecting the Great Lakes and our other water sources.

I want to commend Mayor Miller for taking a leadership role in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative and for beginning the important work of implementing Toronto’s stormwater management plan.

Here in Toronto, over the past five years, our government has provided support for the implementation of the Toronto and Region Remedial Action Plan with one of our key partners — the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority.

The result? New technologies and “best in science” techniques for stormwater management and integrated watershed management plans for Toronto’s rivers.

Je voudrais féliciter le maire Miller d’avoir assumé un rôle de leadership dans l’initiative concernant les villes des Grands Lacs et du Saint-Laurent et d’avoir commencé à mettre en œuvre le plan de gestion des eaux pluviales de Toronto.

Ici à Toronto, au cours des cinq dernières années, nous avons appuyé la mise en œuvre du Plan d’assainissement de Toronto et de la région en collaboration avec l’un de nos partenaires principaux — l’Office de protection de la nature de Toronto et de la région.

De nouvelles technologies et techniques de gestion des eaux pluviales et des plans intégrés de gestion des bassins versants des rivières de Toronto ont résulté de ce processus.

The city of Toronto is an important partner of the province in a relationship that is crucial. Together, we will work diligently to restore the Great Lakes and find ways to prevent future contamination.

As you are well aware, Ontario is just one of several jurisdictions that share responsibility for protecting and sustaining the Great Lakes ecosystem.

We can’t do this alone.

Achieving the kind of real progress we want and need means building strong partnerships with our neighbours across all our borders.

That’s why the Great Lakes Charter Annex Agreement is so important.
Effectively, it brings Ontario together with our neighbours in Quebec and the eight Great Lakes states in the U.S. so we can work together to achieve our common goals.
In fact, in his recent report, the Environmental Commissioner calls the agreement groundbreaking.
One of the key parts of the Great Lakes Charter Annex agreement provides for a virtual ban on water diversions.
This is more critical than ever, as we start to tackle the effects of global warming on our ecosystems and drinking water supplies.
In addition, Ontario is also playing an active role in the current review of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between Canada and the United States.

We are seeking to strengthen the agreement by expanding its parameters — we want to see watershed planning and source water protection added to the mandate. What’s more, we aim to ensure that we, as a government, the various Great Lakes municipalities and First Nations have a stronger role in Great Lakes governance.

Ultimately, I believe that this will put management of the Great Lakes into the hands of the people who have primary, front-line relationships with the lakes — the stewards of the lakes, if you will.

At the same time, we want the next Water Quality Agreement to address the impact of climate change and global warming on Great Lakes ecosystems. Our challenge is to sustain the resilience of the Great Lakes ecosystem, nothing less. We embrace that challenge.

And meanwhile, our government is fulfilling Ontario’s joint commitments with the federal government under the Canada-Ontario Agreement Respecting the Great Lakes Ecosystem — which most people know simply as COA.

In our work under this agreement, my ministry works closely with the Ministries of Natural Resources and Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs — as well as their federal counterparts.

Under the current Canada-Ontario Agreement, we have invested $50 million dollars over five years to support the restoration and protection of the Great Lakes. And that investment is helping us achieve some significant results including the protection of environmentally sensitive wetlands, the clean-up of contaminated sediments and the complete restoration of Severn Sound.

A number of other areas of concern are very close to restoration and I look forward to seeing them taken off the list under the next COA.

Pollution reduction programs supported by commitments under COA have resulted in significant reductions in the release of harmful substances. By the end of 2005 the release of high-level PCBs had been reduced by 89 per cent, mercury by 84 per cent and dioxins and furans by 87 per cent.

However, much work remains to be done.

It’s a big challenge and one that involves significant costs. Just to give you an idea, the Hamilton Harbour Remedial Action Plan, in the period from 2001 to 2005, cost stakeholders something like $205 million in total.

The current COA expires in March — just around the corner — and we are looking for public input as we move forward on the next steps. Consultation with is essential.

Just a couple of weeks ago, we posted a proposal on the Environmental Bill of Rights Registry, asking for the public to comment on priorities for a renewal of the Canada-Ontario Agreement respecting the Great Lakes Ecosystem.

The issues we face in protecting the Great Lakes Basin are far broader and more complex than cleaning up specific areas.
We need to tackle long term problems by focusing on critical issues like climate change, biodiversity conservation and clean, safe drinking water.

Other suggested priorities for the renewed agreement look at building on Ontario’s watershed-based approach to source protection, taking further action to reduce pollutants and promoting sustainable Great Lakes communities.

I’ve already met with the new federal Minister of the Environment and I’ve told him plainly how important re-negotiation of COA is to Ontario.

In fact, I am optimistic about the progress we’re making. And I am proud that our government will not compromise on our vision of a cleaner, healthier and more sustainable future.

And it is that vision that should drive our collection actions as we continue to work together … to preserve and sustain our Great Lakes … for our children, and for many generations to come.

Thank you.

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