For Immediate Release
June 14th, 2017
Mississauga Stands Up for Great Lakes and St. Lawrence: Mayor Crombie
Nearly 50 million people in communities throughout Canada and the United States depend on water from the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence region for their health and wellbeing, Mayor Bonnie Crombie said today in advance of participating in the 2017 Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative Annual Meeting and Conference in Montreal.
Mississauga is a member of The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative – a coalition of 130 cities from the United States and Canada representing over 17 million people who work together for the long-term protection and restoration of their local and collective environments.
“Protecting the Great Lakes is also fundamental to ensuring we maintain a strong, resilient and competitive economy that multiple different industries rely on,” added Mayor Crombie, who is being joined by Ward 1 City Councillor Jim Tovey.
The conference will bring together the region’s local government leaders to set priorities on climate change, invasive species, budget cuts in the United States, and other issues affecting the region.
In March 2017, Councillor Tovey, Mayor Crombie and Council unanimously passed a resolution in support of the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Cities Initiative and the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI),– a $300 million-per-year U.S. federal program that provides funding to combat invasive species, clean up toxic hot spots, protect habitat and wildlife, and improve storm water management. The Trump Administration has proposed a complete elimination of the program
“The Great Lakes contain 22.5 per cent of the world’s fresh water,” Councillor Jim Tovey said. “Mississauga’s waterfront is unique, and a valuable asset. Neighbourhoods like Port Credit are celebrated destinations that people from throughout the Greater Toronto Area and beyond choose to visit and enjoy. The most important work we can accomplish is to protect the Great Lakes for future generations,” Councillor Tovey added.
During the conference, Mayor Crombie and Councillor Tovey will work alongside delegates to introduce new measures that recognize and safeguard the importance of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River region.
Mayor Crombie added, “As we look toward Mississauga’s promising future, the city-building efforts of Council and staff are focused on helping us further transform our dynamic waterfront into a place where people can live, work, have access to public transit, enjoy natural amenities and an unrivaled quality of life.
Mississauga boasts 22 kilometers of waterfront along Lake Ontario. The provincial government recently announced plans to sell 177 acres in south Mississauga’s Lakeview waterfront neighbourhood with plans to remediate the industrial lands before transforming the area into a mixed-use community expected to house up to 20,000 residents and 9,000 jobs.
The City of Mississauga is also working with the Region of Peel, Credit Valley Conservation Authority and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority to press ahead with the Lakeview Waterfront Connection Project – a plan to create a beautiful and naturalized conservation area that will transform the Lakeview neighbourhood into a hub for passive waterfront recreation, a hotspot for wildlife migration and a green oasis.
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