OTTAWA – In response to a question by NDP MP Paul Dewar (Ottawa Centre) during today’s question period, the minister of environment announced that he will support the initiative to designate the Ottawa River as a heritage river.

“This is a victory for our community, particularly the hardworking people who have spent the last five years seeking this recognition” said Dewar. “The designation is the first step in getting the government to recognize the importance of this river which serves as the source of drinking water for 1.1 million people”.

Dewar introduced a motion in the House of Commons in 2006 to call on the government to protect and preserve the Ottawa River. Last March, he released an Action Plan for the government to preserve the integrity of our river. Designation of the Ottawa River as a heritage river involves monitoring the state of the river on an ongoing and active basis – an important step in Paul Dewar’s Action Plan.

“The community has been successful in making this government understand the importance of the Ottawa River to our region” concluded Dewar. “We now need action to stem the pollution that is affecting our river”.

What benefits does the designation mean to our community?

(from the Ottawa River Heritage Designation Project website)

• River Benefits of Designation
• coordinated river management
• increased environmental protection
• water quality improvement
• focus on government programs

Dewar’s Q&A with John Baird on the Ottawa River:

Mr. Paul Dewar (Ottawa Centre, NDP): Mr. Speaker, for thousands of years the Ottawa River has been a source of life and livelihood for people living in this region. The campaign for designating the Ottawa River has been ongoing for five years in order to obtain federal recognition for what is already widely known. A request to designate the Ottawa River as a heritage river went unanswered by the Minister of the Environment. I want to ask the minister, can he confirm whether the initiative is still alive and if he is going to support it?

Hon. John Baird (Minister of the Environment, CPC): Mr. Speaker, I say to my friend from Ottawa Centre, yes and yes.