In June 2010, a Government of Ontario media release noted, “The premiers (of Ontario and Quebec) announced they will work towards a forum on the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River that will take place in the spring 2011. This forum, which will be divided in two parts, will focus on questions related to their economic importance and on water quality and protection.” That was noted last June at http://canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=3949.
It appears that the forum McGuinty and Charest noted then is the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Region summit in Windsor, June 21-22.
A review of the summit’s agenda includes:
-Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty invited to open the summit
-NAFTA negotiator Colin Robertson on the federal role
-World Wildlife Fund president Gerald Butts on the environmental challenge
-US Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano invited to give a keynote address
-Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships president Mark Romoff on transportation networks and infrastructure
-perimeter security bureaucrat Simon Kennedy invited to speak on trade and border issues
-Cleantech Group chairman Nicholas Parker and Corporate Knights Toby Heaps on the blue economy
This summit does not appear in any way to reflect our call for the Great Lakes to be recognized as a commons, public trust, and protected bio-region. For our commentary on that, please go to www.canadians.org/greatlakes.
More on the summit at http://greatlakessummit.org.
