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The International Joint Commission will be holding a series of Public Hearings in July: Addressing Uncertainty in Upper Great Lakes Water Levels. These hearings will provide information on their studies since 2007 investigating options for better management of changing water levels and flows in the upper Great Lakes system (Lakes Superior, Huron, Michigan/Georgian Bay and Erie).

Sierra Club is encouraging everyone to participate at the meetings. Please come and wear your "Restore Our Water Levels" t-shirt (pictured here). You can buy one for $10 at the IJC meetings or at select marinas and stores around Georgian Bay. Contact us at ontariochapter@sierraclub.ca  to find a location near you.

August 27, 2012

International Joint Commission, Canadian Section
234 Laurier Avenue West, 22nd Floor
Ottawa, ON K1P 6K6  Canada

The Hon. John Baird
House of Commons
Ottawa,  Canada

International Joint Commission United States Section,
2000 L Street, NW
Suite #615
Washington, DC 20036  USA

Dear IJC Canadian and United States Commissioners;

Thank you for providing the opportunity to comment during your recent public hearings and in writing on the International Upper Great Lakes Study Board’s (IUGLSB) Reports.

Andrew Robinson’s article “How to get around,” Aug. 25, concerning regional public transit, outlined the absence of leadership and vision present among provincial and municipal leaders towards the subject.

Unfortunately, the provincial government, in its energy policy document, exhibited its shortsightedness when it dismissed regional public transit as a viable option in its commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. To date they have tended to view it as a transportation option meriting little importance on their agenda.

Ontario’s last coal-burning power plants will close by the end of this year, Premier Dalton McGuinty is expected to announce Thursday.

The closure is either one year earlier than scheduled, or six years late, depending on your perspective.

The current deadline for closing the coal plants is Dec. 31, 2014 — which makes the new deadline a year early. But the McGuinty government had ridden into office in 2003 promising to close the coal plants by the end of 2007.