The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River ecosystem
provides so much for so many. Water to drink, food
to eat, places to relax and play, a home for fish and
other animals, beaches for swimming, open water for
sailing and shipping, beautiful vistas, and a regional
economy of $3.7 trillion, the third largest in the world
behind the United States and Japan.24 However, we
squander this priceless resource when we use the
Great Lakes as a place to put our sewage and dump
our toxic waste. We waste our drinking water through
inefficient and careless use. We treat the lakes as a
commodity by artificially diverting water away from
the basin. We open the lakes up to infiltration by
physical and biological contaminants that threaten the
unique character of the ecosystem. And we fail to fix
the past damage we have done.
While collectively we understand the ramifications
of our actions, and Canadians want to change, our
governments have chosen to take only limited action.
Instead they pass the buck treating the problems as if
they were someone else’s. Now that we have reached
the tipping point, if governments don’t act quickly,
we are in jeopardy of losing what the lakes provide.
This document has outlined what actions the various
levels of government need to take in order to
start down the road to recovery. Governments must
recognize the fundamental principles of proper management:
strong and visionary governance; effective
public participation; recognizing the interconnections
between water quality and quantity; and ecosystem
based management. At the same time, governments
need to address a variety of priority areas, including: cleaning up and eliminating toxics while promoting clean production
region-wide; addressing municipal sewage and infrastructure problems; eliminating invasive species; and improving water
level and flow management.
The Great Lakes are a one-time gift from melting glaciers. If we continue down our current path and do not rectify our past
mistakes, we will lose all of the great things they provide us with forever. All levels of government in Canada must take action
so that our children can appreciate the resources of this true wonder of the world.
References
[24] Great Lakes Manufacturing. (2007). Manufacturing Innovations Backgrounder. Available at: http://www.greatlakesmanufacturing.org/resources/glm_backgrounder.pdf
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