ENVI Committee Report

DISSENTING REPORT FROM THE OFFICIAL OPPOSITION NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY ON THE STUDY OF GREAT LAKES WATER QUALITY

The New Democratic Party of Canada would like to thank all who appeared before or submitted written briefs to the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development during the Committee’s study of water quality in the Great Lakes.

While we agree with some of the basic points in the Committee Report, there are significant areas where we have concerns.  Unfortunately, given an imposed page restriction, we are only able to articulate some of those in this report.

One key shortcoming of the report is its failure to make any recommendations regarding the impacts of climate change on the Great Lakes ecosystem.

Prior to the initiation of the study, the New Democrats introduced motions to explicitly include climate change in the mandate to ensure that these significant impacts were not exempted from the study, but the majority of the Committee members were not convinced.

During testimony, in fact, climate change was raised as one of the most significant factors affecting water quality in the Great Lakes on dozens of occasions. 

Ms. Nancy Goucher of Environmental Defense Canada pointed to the effects of warming temperatures and more intense rainfalls on the increase of algae growth, especially in Lake Erie. 

“You're going to have warmer waters and more intense rainfall events, and both are going to lead to an increase in algae growth, especially in Lake Erie. Also, with warmer waters and warmer winters, you're going to have less ice cover, which leads to more evaporation, which in turn leads to lower lake levels…In terms of solutions, I would say that we really need to be looking at both mitigation and adaptation. In terms of adaptation, conservation authorities and other partners on the ground have been doing a great job in working toward ways to build more resilient cities and resilient communities.

In terms of a federal role, I think there's a direct federal role for the federal government: to support communities in helping them deal with flooding and droughts, in funding infrastructure upgrades and emergency planning, and in renewing the flood damage reduction program so that we're not building in flood plains.

Also, I think we need to be looking at mainstreaming our water policies with climate change. Every decision we make in terms of water will need to consider what will be happening in terms of climate change.

On top of this, we need to be looking at mitigation. At a provincial and even a municipal level, I think we have a lot of communities working on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We need a stronger federal commitment in that capacity as well.”

Mr. David Sweetnam, Executive Director of Georgian Bay Forever also weighed in. 

“The effects of climate change are widespread and consequential. Fast-acting institutions, elastic regulations, and early-warning systems are needed as part of an adaptive management process to address these changes.

But according to the United Nation's climate change report released yesterday the scale of climate-change harms are expected to be so overwhelming that mitigation measures will be necessary to avert the greatest risks. In response to the report, Secretary of State John Kerry said, “Unless we act dramatically and quickly, science tells us our climate and our way of life are literally in jeopardy.”

This is a warning and a significant call to action.

The environmental side effects of climate change —from water quality to invasive species, water levels and habitat erosion—are alarming. But the associated economic impacts could be in the billions, with major harms caused to tourism, property values, shipping, and other key industries. More research into these economic impacts is necessary, but the environmental harms are already clear.”

Dr. Patricia Chow-Fraser of McMaster University warned that climate change is affecting water levels and temperatures, which affect water quality.  “One of the many consequences of global climate change is there are lower than normal water levels in the Great Lakes, and we are seeing this now…There are many consequences of this, but the sustained low water levels have had immediate and devastating effects on the quantity and the quality of the fish habitat in coastal wetlands. Some of these negative effects have included up to 24% loss in breeding and nursery habitat, because they are no longer accessible to migratory fish. There is deterioration in the habitat structure related to disappearance of some of the submergent vegetation in the deeper water and a reduction in the species richness of fish and plant communities. If water levels were to drop to 174 metres, which is predicted by the global circulation models, access to another 50% of the wetlands now extant will be lost.

Even if wetlands don't dry up, we are also concerned about the thermal quality of these wetlands. We have monitored the water temperatures in some of these embayments and have found that the temperature of the water that is used by pike is approaching 27.5°C, which is the point at which the fish stop feeding. We know when they don't feed, they're not growing and they start to die.

There is very little information on how water temperature in these nearshore habitats is changing. There is not a single monitoring system in the whole of eastern and northern Georgian Bay that is now being monitored by government. This highlights the need for more targeted research to understand the threat of warming temperatures and low water levels on the health of nearshore embayments.”

Concerns about climate change and its impact on the Great Lakes were not limited to academics and community groups.   Provincial government representatives also made the link. 

Dr. Maurice Bitran, Assistant Deputy Minister in the Ministry of the Environment, Integrated Environmental Policy Division, for the Government of Ontario, stressed the importance of the Great Lakes to the province of Ontario, and the risks associated with climate change. 

“The Great Lakes are of great importance to the province of Ontario. The Great Lakes are the source of drinking water for 80% of Ontarians, and the Great Lakes basin is where the great majority of Ontarians live and where most of our economic, agricultural, and social activities take place…

The changing climate has emerged as a significant threat to Great Lakes water quality. For example, severe weather events associated with climate change have increased runoff to the Great Lakes, and with it the flow of pollutants from urban, industrial, and agricultural sources.

In order to improve our understanding of stressors such as climate change and enhance our ability to adapt, Ontario is increasing public access to scientific information on the Great Lakes and enhancing monitoring and modelling to understand and predict the impacts of climate change and other cumulative impacts.Mr. Jim Richardson, a Director at the Ministry of Agriculture & Food, Environmental Management Branch of the  Government of Ontario detailed gaps in existing knowledge, and the need for research to both protect the environment and to help the agricultural community.

“There is much that we don't know about the interaction between human activities and the ecosystem of the Great Lakes basin, and how this is being further complicated by climate change, invasive species, and other factors.

The ministry's best practices verification and demonstration program endeavours to examine some of these challenges from an environmental and economic perspective by field testing new and improved practices to address such challenges as extreme weather events. It is through these research programs and working with our federal and U.S. colleagues that we are developing a better understanding of what actions we can take to support the health of the Great Lakes basin ecosystem.

Some witnesses had to beg to address climate change. Mr. Michael D'Andrea, of the City of Toronto pleaded,

“Mr. Chair, if I could beg your indulgence for just one minute, I need to recognize the fact that I know there was an interest in talking about climate change adaptation strategies in the City of Toronto to deal with urban flooding as well as the work we've done for source water protection in the near-shore area of Lake Ontario”

Mr. Gordon W. Walker, the Acting Chair of the Canadian Section of the International Joint Commission made some compelling statements.

“Climate change is huge for all of us, and none of us in this room could likely say that they haven't seen the impact of climate change, such as more moderate winters, although I can't say that about right now. We've had a pretty impressive winter, and just two weeks ago 90% of the surface of the Great Lakes was covered by ice. That is the first time that has happened since 1994, but if I'd been here in any year in between, I would have been bemoaning the fact that there was not enough ice cover and that the evaporation was so phenomenal that it was taking away huge amounts of water and causing great impact on the Great Lakes.

How to stop climate change is something that scientists have been arguing for a long time, and of course, there are hundreds of arguments out there on how to stop climate change. I'm not sure I can add much to that equation, but very obviously, if climate change can somehow or another be slowed or reversed, then that would have a huge impact on the Great Lakes and a great impact on all of us. Stretching from the point where Lake Superior is at one end all the way to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, it has huge impact on the water, both in terms of quantity and in terms of what flows from that.

When there is a lower quantity of water caused by climate change,  that presents a problem. That makes trouble for shipping. That makes trouble for fishing. It makes trouble for the quality of the water, so anything that can stop, discourage, or reverse climate change is important. It may be a pretty tough order to accomplish. It's going to take the entire world being part of that.”

It was clear throughout the study that climate change plays an enormous and obvious detrimental role affecting the water quality of the Great Lakes ecosystem, and on the drinking water of millions of Canadians and US residents.  To ignore that risk, and to deny the impacts is not only risky, it is irresponsible.

New Democrats believe that immediate, aggressive action is needed by Canada to address, mitigate, and ultimately assist Canadians and municipal and provincial governments adapt to the effects of climate change.  It is not a theoretical risk that might be faced by future generations, it is an immediate and urgent problem.

This government has exhibited an overall lack of respect for and recognition of the importance of the contributions of science and scientists, and of environmental groups, Aboriginal groups, and communities.  All of these stakeholders must be included in developing a national plan to address climate change, and to address the issue of water quality in the Great Lakes.