Windsor public forum on Great Lakes a Success!

Dec 1st, 2006 3:32 AM

Windsor public forum on Great Lakes a Success! Pollution Probe and Ontario's Environmental Commissioner hear from enthusiastic residents on how best to protect the Great Lakes (Windsor, ON, November 30, 2006) Tonight, Windsor residents met with Pollution Probe's Water Programme Director Rick Findlay and Ontario's Environmental Commissioner Gord Miller at Windsor City Hall to offer their opinions on the future of the Great Lakes. Tonight's event was the second in a series of four public forums being held in four cities across Ontario, designed to inform residents living in communities near the Great Lakes on the region's ecological sustainability and give them a chance to offer their opinions and ideas. Each forum is framed within a new Vision Statement on the Great Lakes* that Pollution Probe has helped to develop. Findlay said the discussion was constructive "because the environmental long term health of the Great Lakes extends into the social and economic side of our lives. If they are not properly understood and protected, unhealthy Great Lakes will have serious implications for the viability of the whole province." The event organizers were impressed by the output from the roundtable held earlier in the day and was pleased with the attendance by representatives of local industries, conservation groups and concerned citizens. Commissioner Miller highlighted two important suggestions that came out of the discussions. In the first instance, it was recommended that continuous monitoring of the water quality in the St. Clair and Detroit rivers be considered and that future developments should protect the near shore environment through sustainable, ecologically friendly growth. Miller also noted that Windsor participants repeatedly told him they believed that, "despite government coordination and bi-national agreements, there has been a serious slide in accountability which has slowed progress on the Great Lakes." For those who missed tonight's discussion, information about other dates and locations is available at www.pollutionprobe.org. The next public forum will be held on Tuesday, December 5th in Hamilton at Hamilton City Hall, 71 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. For more information, please contact: Rick Findlay, Director, Water Programme, Pollution Probe, (613) 237-8666, cell: (613) 863-8081, rfindlay@pollutionprobe.org Dennis Draper, Office of the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, 416-325-0530, dennis.draper@eco.on.ca *Pollution Probe's Vision Statement can be found at http://www.pollutionprobe.org/Reports/greatlakesvision.pdf Pollution Probe is a Canadian environmental organization that defines environmental problems through research, promotes understanding through education and presses for practical solutions through advocacy. To accomplish this mission, we they engage government agencies, private businesses and non-profit organizations to help find solutions. The Environmental Commissioner of Ontario (ECO) is an independent officer of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and is appointed to a five-year term. The Commissioner issues annual reports to the Assembly reviewing the government's compliance with the Environmental Bill of Rights.