With funding from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA) officially launched the Healthy Great Lakes program in December 2016.
CELA identified a need to enhance the capacity of organizations working to influence freshwater policy in Ontario and has been working to engage a broad network of individuals and organizations in understanding, shaping, effectively implementing, and making use of laws and policies that promote freshwater health in the Great Lakes – St Lawrence River Basin.
Law Reform: Safe Drinking Water for All 18% of people in Ontario don’t have sufficient legal protections for their drinking water. That’s over 2.6 million people whose water is at risk of contamination – from sewage works, landfills, manure application,
Law Reform: Get the Lead Out of Drinking Water We’ve known for a long time that exposure to even very low levels of lead can have serious health consequences, especially for fetuses and young children. Although there is widespread recognition
Law Reform: Ontario’s Clean Water Act The final recommendations of the Walkerton Inquiry, held in response to the drinking water contamination tragedy there in May of 2000, described the protection of drinking water sources – source water protection – as
Quarterly in-depth discussions amongst water champions about important freshwater policy topics
Quarterly in-depth discussions amongst water champions about important freshwater policy topics
CELA worked with Coeuraj to build stronger Indigenous inclusivity within the Healthy Great Lakes program, and develop greater connections to Indigenous land and water stewardship initiatives and with Indigenous groups.
A review of lead test results from 47 communities in Ontario illustrates the need for Ontario to adopt a more stringent drinking water standard to ensure safe drinking water.
On April 7, 2022, the Government of Canada released the budget for 2022-2023, “A Plan to Grow Our Economy and Make Life More Affordable.”
The budget contains several proposals and updates on federal freshwater programs. Highlights include: clean drinking water for First Nations communities, freshwater protections, and monitoring of plastic waste in water systems.
Given cumulative assaults on regional forests and wetlands as well as the deterioration in local water quality and aquatic and amphibian species, a valid question arises: Is Ontario’s current system of land use planning protecting our waters?
CELA has provided comments in response to the proposed amendments to the Greenbelt Plan – Growing the size of the Greenbelt
CELA lawyers recently submitted a letter to Ontario’s Environment Minister regarding the province’s voluntary Best Practices for Source Water Protection.
Presentation by CELA Executive Director Theresa McClenaghan on Canadian Water Legislation.
Given cumulative assaults on regional forests and wetlands as well as the deterioration in local water quality and aquatic and amphibian species, a valid question arises: Is Ontario’s current system of land use planning protecting our waters?
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