March/April 1995
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March/April 1995 |
by Claude Mailloux
Ever since 1987, the mayors and representatives of 126 U.S. and 526 Canadian municipalities along the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River have met for the annual International Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Mayors' Conference to take stock of the challenges facing their riparian communities.
Because they share the benefits and responsibilities of being on the waterfront, the riparian municipalities decided to create an organization devoted to the St. Lawrence-Great Lakes system. What can the Mayors' Conference do for riparian municipalities? It provides a forum cooperation based on the promotion and protection of the system's interests. It also gives the mayors and municipalities a voice to express the concerns of riparian communities about the basin's future to the other levels of government and the private and public organizations throughout the region.
Over the years, resolutions passed at the Mayors' Conference have dealt with water quality, water levels, sustainable development, shipping, shore protection, zebra mussels, excursion boats, international boats, municipal infrastructure and other topics. In time, the Mayors' Conference has become a respected instrument of cooperation for the St. Lawrence-Great Lakes system and plays a notable role in the decisions concerning the resource as a whole. Incorporated in 1993, the Mayors' Conference is a genuine binational organization in its organization and scope, and it is officially bilingual.
The current chair of the Mayors' Conference is Hamilton Mayor Robert Morrow, whose municipality will host the next annual conference on June 28-30, 1995. Transportation and the economy, the environment and the Hamilton region are the three main topics on the program.
Environmental issues to be discussed will include the impact of air quality on water quality, the role of the municipalities in strategies pertaining to diffuse pollution sources and the scope of Remedial Action Plans. Finally, a special session will focus on initiatives taken by the Hamilton region to reconcile its traditional economic activities with those of environmental preservation. The Honorable Sheila Copps, Canada's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Environment has already confirmed her intention to speak to the conference.
The annual conference is open not only to the mayors and representatives of the municipalities, but to all whose activities and interests relate to the St. Lawrence-Great Lakes system. For further information on the Hamilton conference call (905)546-2790 or fax (905)546-3915.
Since 1992, the St. Lawrence Economic Development Corporation has provided the secretariat for Mayors' Conference. It is assisted by the Great Lakes Commission.
For more information about the Mayors' Conference contact Claude Mailloux, Coordinator, International Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Mayors' Conference, 271, rue de l'Estuaire, Box 2268, Quebec City, Quebec G1K 7P7. (418)848-4874; fax (418)848-4627.
Or contact Steve Thorp, Great Lakes Commission, The Argus II Building, 400 Fourth Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48103-4818. (313)885-9135; fax (313)885-4370.
Revised: April 8, 1997
Maintained by Kevin McGunagle,
mcgunaglek@ijc.wincom.net