Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee.
I'm pleased to be here today to offer some freshwater perspectives from the standpoint of the Great Lakes region.
The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region, which is shared by the United States and Canada, comprises eight states—from New York to Minnesota—and the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. For millennia, however, as we all know, this region has also been the traditional territory for many indigenous nations and peoples. Today, it serves as a vital economic and ecological region for both countries.
For example, it has roughly $6 trillion U.S. in economic activity, which represents close to 10% of global GDP. This region, if it were a country, would represent the third-largest economy in the world. It would be behind only the United States and China and ahead of major economies such as Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom.
Unsurprisingly, border crossings in this mega-region are among the busiest in the world, because the provinces and states in this region trade more with each other than with any other country in the world. Over 50 million jobs—one-third of the combined American-Canadian workforce—depend on the region's commerce and cross-border trade.
At the heart of this economic region is one of the largest freshwater systems in the world: the five Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River. Over 20% of the world's surface fresh water flows through these lakes before reaching the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Atlantic Ocean. They sustain 50% of Canada's economic activity and 60% of the country's population, as well as important climatic and ecosystem functions along the way.
While this inland freshwater sea is vast in size, the Great Lakes are a finite natural resource. In fact, it is estimated that only 1% of these waters are renewed on an annual basis by precipitation, groundwater and runoff. Moreover, since the lakes turn over and replenish very slowly—anywhere from years to centuries in the case of Lake Superior—they are extremely sensitive to pollution and climate change.
The binational Council of the Great Lakes Region is working to accelerate the regional transition to a sustainable future by uniquely bringing diverse perspectives and interests together across borders and sectors to explore and solve the most pressing socio-economic and environmental challenges as one Great Lakes region. By bringing the environment and economy together in our work and by promoting sustainability in the region's academic research, public policy choices, business decisions, local and regional planning, and capital investments, CGLR is ensuring our regional economy is growing responsibly, our people are thriving and our environment and the Great Lakes are protected for future generations. In other words, we are finding ways to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
For the sake of time, the council would like to offer four freshwater recommendations for your consideration. More details about each have been provided in this submission to the committee, which I hope you have.
The first recommendation would be more funding. It is required to accelerate restoration work at seven toxic hot spots or areas of concern—in Canada, there are 12 of them, five binational—that are currently not in recovery or delisted as areas of concern.
We must increase funding for Great Lakes science and environmental conservation efforts to deepen and accelerate progress on all annexes of the Canada-U.S. Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.
We must move faster to create an independent Canada water agency with the right capacity, making it both a whole-of-government effort and a national call to action to respond to Canada's and the world's growing water challenges.
Finally, the federal government should move responsibility for the blue economy strategy from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to the Canada water agency, and every effort should be made to release a pan-Canadian blue economy strategy with a supporting action plan as soon as possible.
Thank you for the opportunity to present to you today. I'd be pleased to take your questions when the time is appropriate.