Last year, the federal government announced the creation of a Canadian Water Agency dedicated to finding the best ways to ensure the safety, cleanliness and sound management of this rich natural resource.
Posted at 11:00 a.m.
We believe that the creation of this agency is excellent news for the ecosystem of Canadian water and environmental organizations, and we welcome the government’s initiative. We are also convinced that the Greater Montreal area is the ideal location to welcome him.
Why in Quebec?
Quebec is an emblematic and globally recognized province in terms of water protection. The territory of Quebec holds 3% of the world’s freshwater reserves and nearly 40% of this water is concentrated in the watershed of the St. Lawrence River, as well known as Quebec, and the real engine of our social and economic development. Its importance is paramount, since it drains more than 25% of the world’s fresh water reserves and millions of Canadians depend on it for their daily lives, both for the drinking water it provides and for the jobs it creates. .
The St. Lawrence River is a strong symbol for Quebec, but also for Canada. It is a fundamental trade corridor for our country and indeed for all of North America. It allows us, both for import and export, to exchange goods, our know-how, our culture, and much more. Being an emissary of the Great Lakes basin, which contains approximately 20% of all fresh surface water on our planet, it connects the latter to the Atlantic Ocean through the St. Lawrence Seaway.
The St. Lawrence River is a source of fresh water essential to our lives, in addition to offering opportunities for trade, recreation and cultural exchanges.
Why Greater Montreal?
With the presence of the only container port on the St. Lawrence, the maritime industry that supports it, numerous companies specializing in the field of water, a prolific school sector based mainly on four universities, all of which hold a water research chair, and a rich pool of local, regional, national and international organizations dedicated to the protection of water and the environment, the Greater Montreal region has a rich ecosystem of commercial and environmental actors. These make the region a central and strategic hub for the use and protection of this walking path, and the resource that feeds it.
It is for all these reasons that the Greater Montreal area is the most appropriate place to host the head office of the Canadian Water Agency. All the major players in Montreal and Quebec will give the Agency access to their resources, their collaboration, their expertise and, above all, their commitment to protecting Canada’s water. The expertise of Quebec organizations, including those headquartered in Montreal, is rich, as is their dedication to the protection and conservation of our freshwater resources and our inland waters.
We are therefore asking the Government of Canada to join this important mobilization of actors across Quebec and to take the necessary steps so that the Greater Montreal region can accommodate the head office of the Canadian Water Agency.
* Co-signatories: Dominique Monchamp, General Manager of the Gaspé Beaubien Foundation; Jean-Éric Turcotte, General Manager of Strategies Saint-Laurent; Mathieu Laneuville, President and CEO of Réseau Environnement; Karine Dauphin, Executive Director of the Association of Watershed Organizations of Quebec (ROBVQ); Michel Leblanc, President and CEO of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal (CCMM); Madeleine Paquin, President and CEO of LOGISTEC Corporation; Julie Ruiz, President of the Quebec Network on Groundwater (RQES); Jean-Paul Raîche, co-president of the Quebec Network on Groundwater (RQES); Catherine Trudelle, Acting Director of the Quebec InterSectoral Flood Network (RIISQ); Françoise Bruaux, director of the Sud-de-l’Estuaire ZIP Committee; Yenny Vega Cárdenas, President of the International Observatory for the Rights of Nature (OIDN); Sylvain Lafrance, general manager of Innovation maritime; Louise Corriveau, Executive Director of the Lac Saint-Pierre ZIP Committee; Dany Dumont, Director of the Quebec Maritime Network (RQM); Daniele Luigi Pinti, director of Geotop; Alain Saladzius, co-founder and chairman of the board of directors of Fondation Rivières; François Gagnon, Director General and CEO of the École de technologie supérieure (ETS)