Speaking
Notes for the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister
of Environment Canada at an Announcement Concerning
the Upper Great Lakes Water Levels Study
Parry Sound, Ontario - September
8, 2006
Thank you Tony, it is my pleasure
to be here today in Parry Sound for this very
exciting announcement.
You certainly have a beautiful riding. And I am
thrilled to have the opportunity to come here
to appreciate Georgian Bay myself.
Our new government has been
clear; our environmental agenda will provide real
action on cleaning up Canada's air, land and water.
While previous governments focused on spending
their way out of Kyoto targets, our conservative
government will deliver real environmental results.
That is why this study is important,
not only to the people here in Parry Sound but
also to the two provinces and eight states that
surround these Great Lakes. As Minister of the
Environment, I wanted to be here to show our support
for this important initiative.
With one-fifth of the world's surface fresh water,
the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin is the
largest fresh water system on earth.
Clearly, the health of this
ecosystem has global significance. And preserving
its health requires collaboration among governments
and local stakeholders.
Clean, abundant fresh water
is also a fundamental element of our prosperity.
Around the Great Lakes, many
long-standing economic interests continue to depend
on adequate quantities of clean fresh water: shoreline
property values, power generation, commercial
navigation, commercial and recreational fishing,
agriculture, tourism, as well as domestic, industrial
and municipal water use.
This is why, given the ever
increasing demands exerted on this vital resource
by population growth and economic development,
it is important that we advance our understanding
of all the natural and human factors that affect
water flows and levels in the upper Great Lakes.
Managing this common resource
responsibly requires that we keep enhancing our
understanding of the ecosystem and that we keep
assessing, on an ongoing basis, our water flow
regulation regimes and practices.
Change is already upon us. I
understand that the water levels in Georgian Bay,
together with Lakes Huron and Michigan, have been
well below normal for the past seven years and
have been as much as 45 centimetres below average
this summer.
We can see then that the agreement
between our governments to start a second major
study, this time of the Upper Great Lakes water
flows, is particularly timely.
Without a doubt, this study
is an important opportunity to update and develop
the science necessary to make good long-term decisions
regarding the management of the Great Lakes.
Findings from the study may help us achieve a
realistic balance between the needs of the natural
ecosystem and other water uses.
It is my hope that this project,
capitalizing on the knowledge already acquired
through the Lake Ontario – St. Lawrence River
Study, will help us to better understand and manage
the water flows and levels in the Great Lakes
and connecting channels.
Our new government is determined
to implement an effective agenda to protect our
environment, safeguard our health and further
our economic prosperity.
The path ahead on water is a shared one. Working
together, we safeguard our Great Lakes and help
to build a cleaner and environmentally sustainable
Canada.
By protecting our waters, we
preserve a vital part of our natural capital,
safeguarding the health of our families, protecting
the quality of life in our communities and acting
to ensure our future prosperity.
Today, we are pleased to take this step forward
in delivering real action on water levels in the
Great Lakes.
Thank you
