The Great Lakes Blueprint

Since they were created by retreating glaciers 14,000 years ago, the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River have been the backbone of a thriving ecosystem.  The last couple of centuries, however, have seen a decline in the environmental quality of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River.  Fish and wildlife populations, and the habitat they need to survive, are on the decline.  Water levels are dropping across the watershed¹, and invasive species arrive into the ecosystem at a rate of about one every eight months.²

The causes of this on-going crisis are clear.  Cities dump untreated sewage into the Great Lakes in enormous quantities.³ Canadian industries emit more than 1 billion kilograms of pollutants to the air, and on a per-facility basis, release far more than their U.S. counterparts.⁴ Unsuitable urban development is destroying sensitive wildlife habitatand it is projected that by 2030, 3 million more people will live in Lake Ontario's basin⁵, which could greatly increase these development pressures.

Despite the many threats to our Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River ecosystem, Canadian environmental groups do not see a strong enough commitment from our governments at the federal, provincial and municipal levels to protect the basin.  In contrast, the United States has begun addressing these threats through its Great Lakes Regional Collaboration initiatives. This has resulted in bills that would earmark funding of U.S. $20 billion from the U.S. federal government for Great Lakes clean-up efforts.

The Great Lakes Blueprint details eight priorities for protecting the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River. 

1. Improve Governance – There is a need for leadership, coordination and sustained funding from all levels of government in Canada, including greater involvement by the Prime Minister, greater respect for First Nations and better and more effective partnerships between governments within Canada and bi-nationally.  Two billion dollars annually, split equally between the federal and Ontario governments, is required immediately as a baseline to ensure progress is made to protect and restore the Great Lakes, with the understanding that this funding will have to be increased as funded research initiatives elaborate on costs for specific measures.
2. Enable Effective Public Participation – Decision-making must function by using the principles of transparency, participation and education. Canadians have a right to know about the state of the lakes, what governments are doing to protect them, and how they can be involved in the decision-making process.
3. Connect Water Quality and Quantity – The intrinsic relationship between water quality and quantity must be recognized.  Water conservation, source water protection, climate change and toxic substances all need to be incorporated into water management decision-making in the Great Lakes.
4. Practice Ecosystem-based Stewardship – The complexity of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River ecosystem must be appreciated in all decision-making. Management in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River must be ecosystem and basin wide in scope, incorporate adaptive management, the precautionary principle and emphasize species health.
5. Eliminate Pollution – Stronger mandatory plans with strict timelines must be implemented to eliminate toxic substances.  Areas of Concern must be cleaned up and strategies must be put in place to deal with non-point pollution from land use and other inputs.  Stronger research and reporting instruments need to be in place to eliminate toxic substances.
6. Upgrade Sewage Infrastructure– Strong guidelines and additional financial resources are needed to regulate wastewater infrastructure, as well as support research and initiatives that address emerging threats.
7. Halt Aquatic Invasive Species – Immediate action must be taken on the emerging threat of new invasive species.  Financial and policy commitments must be made to protect populations of native species, including bi-national action with the United States on shipping and inter-basin contamination.
8. Protect Water Levels and Flows – An integrated and precautionary approach must inform efforts to conserve water.  Governments must provide major financial support, and ensure infrastructure renewal and policies that reduce individual water use.  The Great Lakes St. Lawrence River Ecosystem Sustainable Water Resources Agreement must be fully implemented by the governments of Ontario and Quebec.

The Great Lakes were a one time gift from melting glaciers.  If we continue down our current path and do not rectify our past mistakes, we risk losing forever all of the great things the Great Lakes provide. This document outlines what actions all levels of government in Canada must take to start down the road to recovery so that our children can appreciate the resources of this true wonder of the world.

References

[1] Environment Canada & Environmental Protection Agency. (2005) State of the Great Lakes 2005. Available at www.binational.net.

[2] Great Lakes Regional Collaboration. (December 2005) Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy. Available at: www.healthylakes.org/2006/05/.

[3] Sierra Legal. (2006) The Great Lakes Sewage Report Card.  Available at www.sierralegal.org.

[4] PollutionWatch. (2006) Partners in Pollution: An Assessment of continuing Canada and United States contributions to Great Lakes Pollution.  Available at www.pollutionwatch.org.