Protection of the Great Lakes a positive step for nature and for people

Toronto, Ontario (February 18, 2015) – WWF-Canada applauds today’s step by the Ontario government to re-introduce the Great Lakes Protection Act.
 

“Today’s announcement by the Ontario Government to reintroduce the Great Lakes Protection Act is a positive step toward securing a healthy future for the Great Lakes ecosystem. These efforts to restore and protect Canada’s Great Lakes basin are critical to the health of the communities and wildlife that depend on its waterways,” says David Miller, President and CEO, WWF-Canada.

This step to protect the iconic Great Lakes basin supports WWF’s goal to ensure Canada’s waters are in good health by 2025. WWF has been working to support the health of the Great Lakes ecosystem by assessing the health of, and current threats to rivers in the region.

Using a cutting-edge methodology to assess river health at a national scale, WWF’s Freshwater Health Assessments tool provides health scores for 17 Canadian rivers to date. The next results, released in June 2015, will focus on the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River basin. 

As a stakeholder in the International Joint Commission’s Plan 2014, WWF also strongly supports work to develop a science-based management plan for Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River.

Protection of this iconic water system will help return water flow to more natural levels and aid in restoring aquatic ecosystems to good condition for local communities and wildlife that rely on this habitat. 

WWF-Canada is part of WWF (World Wildlife Fund), one of the world’s largest and most respected conservation organizations. With the active support of over 250,000 Canadians, WWF-Canada has close to 50 years of experience implementing science-based knowledge and research into on-the-ground projects. WWF is creating solutions to the most serious conservation challenges facing our planet, helping people and nature thrive.

Visit wwf.ca for more information.
For more information and to request an interview please contact:
Tammy Thorne c: 416-347-1894 [email protected]
Jo Anne Walton c: 604-787-3103 [email protected]