Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat News
The Newsletter of the Great Lakes
Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund
Volume 10, Number 5 • Winter 2002/2003
Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat NewsThe Newsletter of the Great Lakes
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By: Linda Pim
At long last, the Ontario government has responded to the call for a watershed-planning approach to protecting drinking water sources. The call for safe drinking water through good watershed planning came in the May 2002 recommendations of the Walkerton Inquiry.
This judicial probe examined the deaths of seven people and the illness of 2,000 others in the town of Walkerton (in the Lake Huron watershed) and how such deaths could be avoided in the future. The deaths and illnesses occurred during the spring of 2000 after the contamination of the town's well-water supply by a virulent strain of E. coli bacteria.
In late October 2002,Ontario Premier Ernie Eves announced that his government would put together an advisory committee to develop a watershed framework for water source protection. Among the groups that have been pressing for a watershed approach to safe drinking water are the Canadian Environmental Law Association, the Federation of Ontario Naturalists, the Nature Conservancy of Canada, the Soil and Water Conservation Society, Conservation Ontario (the association of conservation authorities) and Ducks Unlimited. It is hoped and expected that the government will appoint some or all of these organizations to the advisory committee. For further information and updates, visit the website of the Canadian Environmental Law Association at www.cela.ca.
On November 1, 2002, the Federation of Ontario Naturalists (FON) launched a new book titled A Smart Future for Ontario: How to Protect Nature and Curb Urban Sprawl in Your Community.
The book, written by FON staffers Linda Pim and Joel Ornoy, describes the environmental havoc wrought by urban sprawl, explores smart growth as the solution to sprawl, provides FON's vision for a smarter Ontario future, and gives community activists a toolbox of 32 ways to promote smart growth, both in their own communities and through pressure on provincial and federal governments for legislative and budgetary reforms.
The book is available in hard copy for $8.00 (Can.) by calling FON at (416) 444-8419 or toll-free within Ontario at 1-800-440-2366, or through our website at www.ontarionature.org. You can also download some or all chapters of the book (as PDF files) from our website for free. The book is to be followed by a series of community workshops around southern Ontario. For further information, contact Linda Pim at lindap@ontarionature.org, (416) 444-8419 ext. 243 or toll-free within Ontario at 1-800-440-2366 ext. 243.
Linda Pim |