Take action this week to strengthen the Great Lakes Protection Act

After four years of educating about the need to better protect the Great Lakes, this June, we were stoked to see the Ontario government release a proposed Great Lakes Protection Act and Strategy. The province is asking for input from the public until August 7^th on the Environmental Bill of Rights (EBR). The EBR is a place for the public to find out about and comment on issues that affect the environment.

 

And, this week the province announced a new Great Lakes Guardian Community Fund. It will help community organizations fund projects that protect our shorelines, Great Lakes habitat, improve trails, and remove invasive species, to name a few eligible projects. 

 

We like the proposed Act and Strategy, and are delighted that the province intends to better coordinate the activities and decisions that affect our Great Lakes’ health. But we're concerned that the new powers permitted in the Act won’t be applied widely enough to make a real difference. These “new powers” are based on action plans which can deal with a range of locally-identified and relevant issues including improving wetlands, forests, shoreline, coastal areas, sewage treatment, land use planning, monitoring and more. You can find our comments on the Act and Strategy on our Great Lakes web page.

 

 

If you want to make sure the Great Lakes’ water quality improves, and its beaches, shorelines, and green spaces are protected from harm, take action now.  

 

1.       Sign our petition and add your own comments. The petition will be sent to the government officials collecting public input on the Act and Strategy, and to your MPP;

 

2.       If you are part of a local community group, you can sign on to our submissions by emailing cmalcolmson@environmentaldefence.ca;

 

3.       Comment online at the EBR before August 7^th. Search for the Act and/or Strategy and submit your own comments; 

 

4.       Find out more about the Great Lakes Guardian Community Fund here, and apply as soon as possible.