Canada-Ontario Agreement
on the Great Lakes Extended to March 2011
- OTTAWA, Ont. -- March 31, 2010 -- The
2007 Canada-Ontario Agreement
Respecting the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem
(COA) has been extended to March 31, 2011.
The agreement, signed in June 2007, was
set to expire on March 31, 2010.
The COA establishes
an action plan and clear roles and responsibilities
between federal and provincial ministries,
and helps Canada to meet its commitments
under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.
This one-year extension allows Canada and
Ontario to continue their important work
to protect and restore the Great Lakes while
the governments of Canada and the U.S. negotiate
amendments to the Great Lakes Water Quality
Agreement.
“The Great Lakes are
a crucial resource, fundamental to Canadians’
health and well-being, our environment and
our economy,” said federal Environment Minister
Jim Prentice. “With our partners, the Government
of Canada is committed to re-establishing
healthy ecosystems across the Great Lakes
Basin and is proud to have announced $16
million over two years in the recent budget
to continue protecting and restoring these
magnificent inland seas.”
John Gerretsen, Ontario’s
Minister of the Environment, said, “The
Great Lakes are vital to our way of life,
and our economy. Ontario is committed to
continuing its long-term efforts working
with Canada and other partners in restoring
and protecting the Great Lakes. Adapting
to the long-term effects of climate change
on the Great Lakes is an important part
of that work."
Efforts in the next
year will continue to focus on all aspects
of COA including protecting and restoring
habitat, preventing pollution, cleaning
up environmental hotspots, and working with
partners to advance goals and objectives
for lakewide sustainability. Four important
lake specific projects for the year ahead
are:
•Preventing invasive
species from entering Lake Superior
•Dealing with algal blooms that foul Lake
Huron beaches
•Controlling nutrients from urban and rural
sources around Lake Erie
•Protecting the biodiversity of significant
Lake Ontario shorelines and watersheds.
Once amendments are negotiated to the Canada-U.S.
Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, Canada
and Ontario will have the foundation for
future discussions on priorities for a new
Canada-Ontario Agreement.
The Great Lakes are
the largest system of fresh surface water
on earth, containing roughly 18 per cent
of the world's fresh surface water. They
are home to millions of people, and are
fundamental to the well-being of one-third
of the population of Canada and one-tenth
of the population of the United States.
Eighty-seven per cent of Ontarians live
within the watersheds of the Great Lakes
and St. Lawrence River, and more than 70
per cent of Ontarians get their drinking
water directly from the lakes. The Great
Lakes support 25 per cent of Canada's agricultural
capacity and fishing and shipping in the
lakes inject more than $7-billion annually
into Ontario’s economy. The Great Lakes
Basin ecosystem is home to more than 3,500
species of plants and animals, some of which
cannot be found anywhere else in the world.
+ More
Government of Canada
Releases Draft Assessments for 17 Substances
included in the Chemicals Management Plan
OTTAWA -- On March 20th,
the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister
of Health, and the Honourable Jim Prentice,
Minister of the Environment, released the
draft screening assessment reports for 17
substances assessed in Batch 9 of the Chemicals
Management Plan. Proposed risk management
information on Batch 9 substances was also
provided for those substances considered
likely to require actions to reduce risks.
"Chemicals play
an important role in protecting our health
and contributing to our quality of life,"
said Minister Aglukkaq. "Canadians
want to know that the chemicals we use every
day are managed properly and that is why
the Government is committed to the Chemicals
Management Plan and protecting the health
and environment of Canadians."
"The Government
of Canada has released assessments and,
where warranted, risk management plans for
nine of the 12 batches under the Challenge
to Industry," said Minister Prentice.
"The Government of Canada will continue
to meet its commitment to Canadians by reviewing
a new batch of substances every three months,
and to make progress in safeguarding Canadians
and their environment."
The Government is proposing
five substances assessed in Batch 9 may
pose a risk to human health (methyl eugenol,
vanadium oxide, potassium bromate, NDTHPM
and TGOPE).
Methyl eugenol is naturally-occurring
in the essential oils of several plant species
which may be used as a flavour ingredient
in food and beverages. There are no human
studies to indicate methyl eugenol in food
poses a risk to human health. Methyl eugenol
may also be used as a fragrance ingredient
and softener in personal care products and
cosmetics.
Vanadium oxide is an
industrial chemical that is used in the
manufacture of high-strength steel and sulphuric
acid. It is also released to the environment
primarily in association with particulate
matter formed through combustion of heavy
oil and coal in certain industrial sectors.
Vanadium and its compounds also occur naturally
in the environment (i.e., soil).
Potassium bromate is
used primarily in industrial applications,
including as an oxidizing agent, in Canada.
NDTHM is a synthetic azo-based dye that
is primarily used as a colorant in non-food
based paper. TGOPE is used in some epoxy
resins and adhesives.
In addition to recommending
the five substances proposed harmful to
human health be added to Schedule 1 of CEPA,
1999, the Government is also proposing that
a future use notification tool be applied
to all five substances in addition to other
risk management activities. This provision
requires that the Government be notified
of any new import, manufacture or use of
these substances, and that human health
and ecological screening assessments be
completed before considering whether to
allow these uses.
The Government is also
recommending the Significant New Activity
(SNAc) provision of the Canadian Environmental
Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA, 1999), be applied
to six other chemicals assessed in Batch
9 (Pigment Yellow 24, Pigment Red 88, Eosine
Lead Lake, BDN, BDAC, and Solvent Red 49.)
The Government's draft assessments indicate
these substances do not pose a risk at this
time under CEPA, 1999; however, this provision
will require that the Government be notified
of any new import, manufacture or use of
these substances, and that human health
and ecological screening assessments be
completed before considering whether to
allow these uses.
Notices containing summaries
of the draft screening assessment reports
were published in Canada Gazette, Part I,
on March 20, 2010. The complete draft screening
assessment reports for all Batch 9 substances
and the proposed risk management scopes
for the substances of concern can be found
on the Chemicals Management Plan website.
Interested parties are encouraged to submit
comments on the draft screening assessments
and proposed risk management scopes before
May 19, 2010.
+ More
Government of Canada
and Ducks Unlimited Canada Join Forces to
Conserve Wetlands in the Estrie Region
LAC-MÉGANTIC,
Que. -- March 19, 2010 -- On behalf of the
Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of the
Environment, Christian Paradis, Minister
of Natural Resources and Member of Parliament
for Mégantic-L’Érable, today
joined with Ducks Unlimited Canada and the
Nature Conservancy of Canada to announce
a major ecological gift donated by Domtar
to conserve our natural spaces.
“This ecological gift,
valued at $400,000, is significant in that
it will allow Ducks Unlimited Canada to
protect three properties covering more than
800 hectares in the Estrie region,” said
Minister Paradis.
“Over the last 14 years,
Canadians across the country have donated
more than 783 ecological gifts, resulting
in the conservation of more than 132,000
hectares of ecologically sensitive land
valued at more than $519 million. In Quebec,
85 ecological gifts valued at more than
$46 million and conserving more than 7,000
hectares were donated between 1995 and 2009,”
said Minister Prentice.
The 1000-hectare property
at the southern tip of Lac-Mégantic
in the Estrie contains a vast complex of
marshes, swamps and bogs unique in this
region of Quebec. The area has also been
recognized as an aquatic bird concentration
area by the Quebec government. The conservation
of the surrounding forests will also create
a buffer zone that is essential for maintaining
the ecological integrity of the wetlands.
It is only fitting that
this announcement be made during the International
Year of Biodiversity, as it illustrates
the Government of Canada’s commitment to
our natural resources, which are a source
of pride, prosperity and security for all
Canadians. The Government of Canada is committed
to the long-term conservation of biological
biodiversity and to working with partners
such as Ducks Unlimited to protect our natural
heritage.
This conservation action
comes under a financial partnership agreement
between Ducks Unlimited Canada and Quebec’s
Ministère des Ressources naturelles
et de la Faune for the protection of important
wetlands, and under an agreement between
the Government of Canada and the Nature
Conservancy of Canada for the conservation
of natural spaces across the country.
The Ecological Gifts
Program provides tax incentives for landowners
who donate ecologically sensitive land or
partial interests in land to eligible charitable
organizations or government bodies that
will, in return, protect the land in perpetuity.
According to the terms of the 2006 budget,
ecological gifts are no longer subject to
the capital gains tax.
Frédéric Baril
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of the Environment
