Mowat Centre and CUSLI Talk Stress Need for a Binational Approach to Ensure a Vibrant Great Lakes Future

A new group is working to ensure the Great Lakes Region is seen as the Fresh Water Coast, and not the Rust Belt.

Last week's Toronto Star highlighted the launch of The Council of the Great Lakes Region (CGLR).  

The goal:  secure a bright future for the the Great Lakes Region by bringing together the many public, private, and non-profit groups in the region, identify keys issues facing the region, and then develop and implement solutions.  

Whether its encouraging tourism, pushing policies in the public and private sphere that foster advanced manufacturing, addressing climate change, or pushing regulatory alignment in this bi-national trading hub, The Council of the Great Lakes Region (CGLR) has its work cut out for it.

David Kocan and Matthew Mendelsohn, directors of the Canada-U.S. Law Institute and the Mowat Centre, respectively, and CGLR launch committee co-chairs, talked CGLR and Great Lakes water levels in last Thursday's Toronto Star:

People on both sides of the border know that the health of the economy and the ecosystem on one side of the border will impact those on the other side. But no organization has a mandate to focus on the future of the binational region.

Infrastructure, energy, investment attraction and tourism are just a few of the issues where closer co-operation would benefit people on both sides of the border. Some of the first issues the new council will tackle will be water levels, infrastructure renewal and border improvements.

The future is unpredictable, but looking forward 25 years, the communities around the Great Lakes are a good bet to be among the best places in the world to live. But we must steward that common future together, with smart regulatory, policy and planning choices.

Until now, the region has not had a voice. With the founding of the Council of the Great Lakes Region, it finally does.