Check Against Delivery

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