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CGLR Press Releases

Bold Agenda for Cross-Border Skills Development, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in North America’s Great Lakes Region Released

18 Jun

By

CGLR Press ReleasesNewsWorkforce & Education

Bold Agenda for Cross-Border Skills Development, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in North America’s Great Lakes Region Released

June 18, 2020 | By | 

Immediate Release

Cleveland, Ohio and Toronto, Ontario – Today, the Council of the Great Lakes Region released its report, Great Lakes, Great Minds: Setting the Stage for Higher Education, Business, and Government Collaboration in the Great Lakes to Drive Talent Development, Innovation & Entrepreneurship, which was funded by the United States Mission in Canada.

“The Ontario government welcomes the Great Lakes, Great Minds report,” said the Honourable Ross Romano, Ontario’s Minister of Colleges and Universities. “A changing economy has created numerous collective challenges for each of us in the Great Lakes region. Our success as states and provinces hinges upon our ability to produce and attract talent, to take advantage of scientific discoveries, and to ensure our employers can thrive in both modern day and future economies. Advanced education, research and innovation is at the heart of this agenda and while we each boast incredible world renowned strengths within this sector, today’s report highlights an opportunity for us to work together, with a common goal, to bring together our individual strengths so that we may triumph over our collective challenges.”

The report, co-authored with John Austin, Director of the Michigan Economic Center and Senior Non-Resident Fellow with the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and the Brookings Institution, highlights the strength of the region’s world-class teaching and research institutions and the role they can and must play in positioning the region to compete and win globally and ensuring its long-term competitiveness and development.

“This initiative promotes shared goals of economic prosperity and job creation by fostering collaboration that makes North America more competitive in the global economy,” said Greg Stanford, U.S. Consul General Toronto. “The Great Lakes, Great Minds report presents a way forward for supercharging cross-border institutional collaborations at a critical time in modernizing the United States-Canada economic partnership.”

The report outlines a set of practical recommendations and a framework for facilitating and funding cross-border partnerships and programs between higher education institutions to help companies address the widening talent gap in the region and to develop the future workforce, advance the region as a global hub of applied science and advanced innovation, and to connect business incubators and accelerators across the border.

“The Great Lakes region faces significant talent, innovation, and entrepreneurship pressures,” said Mark Fisher, President and CEO, Council of the Great Lakes Region. “Leveraging the region’s dense network of higher education institutions, we must facilitate a new decade of cross-border partnerships so that the Great Lakes can address these socio-economic risks and catapult ahead in the new economy.”

The full report can be downloaded at https://councilgreatlakesregion.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Great-Lakes_Great-Minds-Paper_June-5_Release_Final.pdf.

About the Council of the Great Lakes Region

The Council of the Great Lakes Region is a binational nonprofit organization that is dedicated to deepening the United States-Canada relationship in the Great Lakes Region. Its focus is on creating a stronger and more dynamic culture of collaboration in harnessing the region’s economic strengths and assets, improving the well-being and prosperity of the Region’s citizens, and protecting the Great Lakes for future generations. It achieves this mandate by conducting evidenced based policy research, connecting diverse perspectives at events like the Great Lakes Economic Forum, and acting as a strong voice for the Region’s varied economic, social and environmental interests.

For More Information

Mark Fisher
President and CEO
Council of the Great Lakes Region
613-668-2044 / mark@councilgreatlakesregion.org
Federal Government asked $2.2 billion to Address Flooding and Contamination in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence

11 Jun

By

CGLR Press ReleasesCircular EconomyClimate Change

Federal Government asked $2.2 billion to Address Flooding and Contamination in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence

June 11, 2020 | By |

Investment to foster a new green regional economy

Ottawa, CANADA, June 10, 2020 – The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Collaborative released today Action Plan to Protect the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence, 2020-2030.

The Action Plan calls on the federal government to fund a forward-looking $2.2 billion 10-year roadmap to tackle some of the greatest environmental challenges facing this region. It also offers an effective means to kick-start the region’s economy today that is severely weakened by COVID-19 and to create long-lasting jobs in a new green economy. 

“For the first time ever, advocates, experts and indigenous groups from across the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence region have spoken with one voice, calling on the Government of Canada for a $2.2 billion investment to protect this massive and remarkable ecosystem where almost 20 million Canadians live and that binds us together by supporting our health and prosperity,” said Jean Cinq-Mars co-chair of the Great Lakes St Lawrence Collaborative and former Commissioner of Sustainable Development of Quebec.  

Action Plan 2020-2030 was developed with input from hundreds of experts and stakeholders in Quebec and Ontario, who forged a consensus on the investments needed to address some of the greatest challenges facing this exceptional but fragile ecological region. These include shoreline flooding and other climate change impacts, outdated wastewater infrastructure, exposure to toxic pollutants in the water, agricultural and urban runoff that feeds harmful algal blooms, and chronically contaminated beaches. Investments would benefit indigenous and non-indigenous coastal communities, such as Thunder Bay, Fort William First Nation, Chatham-Kent, Toronto, Clarington, Montreal, Kahnawake, Adanak Wolinak, Quebec City, Pessamit, Gespeg, and Sainte Flavie, Carleton-sur-mer, the Magdalen Islands among many others.  

Moreover, the Action Plan recommends innovative institutional arrangements to ensure alignment and collaboration amongst federal, provincial and local authorities and organizations, including: 

  • A cross-departmental federal task force to ensure financing and alignment efforts 
  • A Great Lakes Saint Lawrence Commission to coordinate federal, provincial, and local implementation of all recommendations 
  • An indigenous Great Lakes Saint Lawrence organization; 
  • Implementation teams 
  • Research and innovation centers and technical assistance teams to build knowledge and capacity throughout the region 
  • Regular oversight by the Federal Commissioner of Environment and Sustainable Development. 

“The US has already committed $2B over the past 10 years to Great Lakes protection,” said Gord Miller, co-chair of the Great Lakes St., Lawrence Collaborative and former Environment Commissioner of Ontario, “Canada needs to catch up, by putting money on the table to protect this globally significant remarkable ecosystem.” 

To learn more or to arrange an interview please contact:

Mark Fisher, President and CEO, Council of the Great Lakes Region, mark@councilgreatlakesregion.org / 613-668-2044

CGLR to Clean Up Great Lakes Plastic Pollution and Pilot Innovative Materials Marketplace Platform in Ontario with Support from the Government of Canada

12 May

By

CGLR Press ReleasesCircular EconomySustainable Business

CGLR to Clean Up Great Lakes Plastic Pollution and Pilot Innovative Materials Marketplace Platform in Ontario with Support from the Government of Canada

May 12, 2020 | By |

TORONTO, Ontario, May 12, 2020 – Today, the Council of the Great Lakes Region (CGLR) is pleased to announce that it has received financial support from Environment and Climate Change Canada to spearhead two innovative projects targeting plastic litter in the Great Lakes and the loss of valuable materials to landfills in Ontario.

The first project employs two innovative technologies, the Seabin (https://seabinproject.com/) and LittaTrap (https://www.enviropod.com/), to capture and recover plastic debris at marinas along Ontario’s Great Lakes shorelines. The project is being rolled out in partnership with Pollution Probe, Boating Ontario, the University of Toronto Trash Team, PortsToronto, EnviroPod, Water Products and Solutions-America, and Poralu Marine.

The second project, undertaken in collaboration with the United States Business Council for Sustainable Development (USBCSD) and Pollution Probe, will use the USBCSD’s novel, cloud-based materials marketplace platform to create and pilot a materials marketplace in Ontario for the industrial, commercial, and institutional sector, a first in Canada. Once running, the marketplace will connect Ontario businesses and institutions to develop and scale new reuse and recycling market opportunities for hard-to-recycle and by-product materials, keeping their value in economy and out of our landfills. This project also aims to link Ontario’s materials marketplace pilot to existing marketplaces in Michigan and Ohio, creating regional trade opportunities and supporting the shift to a circular economy.

“We are pleased to support the Council of the Great Lakes Region in these two innovative projects aimed at not only protecting the Great Lakes from plastic pollution, but also preventing plastic waste by diverting valuable materials from landfills. These initiatives are in line with the Government of Canada’s goal to move the country to zero plastic waste, which includes working with industry and governments to recycle at least 55% of plastic packaging by 2030,” said Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada. 

“Plastic litter in the Great Lakes and the loss of valuable materials to landfills is significant and results from a flawed, linear business model and poor recycling. This funding will help us shift to better, circular business systems while capturing and cleaning up plastic pollution already in the lakes,” said Mark Fisher, President and CEO, Council of the Great Lakes Region.

The initial phase of these projects will run to March 31, 2021. Both projects are part of CGLR’s efforts to create a cross-border, circular economy in the binational Great Lakes region, home to 107 million people, the engine of the North American economy, and the largest freshwater system in the world.

According to the Rochester Institute of Technology, plastic debris accounts for around 80% of the litter found on the Great Lakes shoreline. In fact, each year, an estimated 22 million pounds of plastics enter the Great Lakes.

The University of Waterloo estimates curtailing Great Lakes plastic pollution could cost more than $400 million annually through beach and waterway cleanups, public anti-littering campaigns, and the development and deployment of advanced recycling and stormwater capture technologies.

During a recent PortsToronto pilot of Seabins in Toronto’s Outer Harbour Marina, a partnership with student researchers from the University of Toronto’s Trash Team, found that two Seabins collected up to two kilograms of litter per day, capturing a wide array of plastic pollution, including microplastics, and other debris.

With respect to the Materials Marketplace, the platform is currently in use by over 2,100 businesses and organizations across North America, 1,300 of which are doing business in the binational Great Lakes economic region.

Since its inception, the Materials Marketplace program has helped identify new end-markets for over 2,000 tons of hard-to-recycle materials and by-product materials, and is being used on a daily basis by leading companies to source recycled feedstocks to help reach recycled content and sustainability goals. The platform, designed by the USBCSD, received a Circulars: Digital Disruptor award from the World Economic Forum and a Project of the Year award from Environmental Leader in 2016.

About the Council of the Great Lakes Region

Established in 2013, the Council is a binational, member-driven, non-profit corporation that is dedicated to deepening the United States-Canada relationship in the Great Lakes economic region. It focuses on creating stronger, more dynamic cross-border collaborations in harnessing the region’s economic strengths and assets, improving the well-being and prosperity of the region’s citizens, and protecting the Great Lakes watershed for future generations. It achieves this by connecting regional leaders through the annual Great Lakes Economic Forum and sector dialogues, exploring key trends shaping the region and proposing solutions and strategies that move the region forward through public policy research, and acting as a strong voice for the region’s varied socioeconomic and environmental interests.

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Media Contact

Mark Fisher
President and CEO
Council of the Great Lakes Region
613-668-2044 / mark@councilgreatlakesregion.org

Council of the Great Lakes Region and the International Association for Great Lakes Research Form Partnership

10 Oct

By

CGLR Press ReleasesNewsWater

Council of the Great Lakes Region and the International Association for Great Lakes Research Form Partnership

October 10, 2019 | By |

SAGINAW, MI – A partnership announced today aims to better connect science, policy, and business interests to accelerate both the restoration and protection of the Great Lakes and the region’s sustainable development.

The International Association for Great Lakes Research and the Council of the Great Lakes Region made the announcement at the State of Lake Huron Conference in Saginaw. The event was co-hosted by the two organizations and the Great Lakes Beach Association.

The Great Lakes watershed, shared by the United States and Canada, as well as eight U.S. states and two Canadian provinces, is a globally significant freshwater resource requiring special protection and management. The watershed provides drinking water to millions of Americans and Canadians, and supports a regional economy that serves as the engine of commerce in and between both countries. The watershed is also one of the world’s most diverse, with 3,500 species of plants and wildlife and more than 250 species of fish.

“The economy and environments of the Great Lakes are vitally important to both countries, yet conversations about the region’s development and protection are often disconnected,” notes Mark Fisher, president and CEO of CGLR. “The partnership between CGLR and IAGLR will serve as a unique platform for connecting scientific experts, policy makers and lawmakers at all levels of government, companies and business leaders across sectors, nongovernmental organizations, youth, and civil society to each other’s dialogues, with the goal of finding solutions to the region’s interrelated socioeconomic and environmental challenges.”

“A strategic goal of IAGLR is to engage its considerable scientific expertise to better inform policy decisions pertaining to the many transboundary socioeconomic and environmental problems facing the Great Lakes,” notes Paul Sibley, president of the research-based association. “The formalized partnership between IAGLR and CGLR provides a mechanism to achieve this goal and reflects the growing recognition that solving Great Lakes issues requires integrative collaboration between scientists, policy makers, lawmakers, industry, and the public that extends beyond traditional boundaries and approaches; one that incorporates a diversity of perspectives and expertise.”

About the Council of the Great Lakes Region

The Council of the Great Lakes Region is a member-run, binational nonprofit organization that is dedicated to deepening the United States-Canada relationship in the Great Lakes Region. Its focus is on creating a stronger and more dynamic culture of collaboration in harnessing the region’s economic strengths and assets, improving the well-being and prosperity of the Region’s citizens, and protecting the Great Lakes for future generations. It achieves this mandate by conducting evidenced-based policy research, connecting diverse perspectives at events like the Great Lakes Economic Forum, and acting as a strong voice for the region’s varied economic, social, and environmental interests.

About the International Association for Great Lakes Research

The member-run International Association for Great Lakes Research is a scientific organization made up of researchers studying the Laurentian Great Lakes, other large lakes of the world, and their watersheds, as well as those with an interest in such research. IAGLR members encompass all scientific disciplines with a common interest in the management of large lake ecosystems on many levels. It advances its mandate in part by communicating the research of its members through the annual Conference on Great Lakes Research and other lake-level meetings, as well as its highly respected Journal of Great Lakes Research.

For More Information:

Mark Fisher
President and CEO
Council of the Great Lakes Region
613-668-2044 / mark@councilgreatlakesregion.org

Paul Sibley
President
International Association for Great Lakes Research
734-498-2007 / president@iaglr.org

12 Sep

By

CGLR Press ReleasesNews

Council of the Great Lakes Region Launches Global Cities Team Challenge Smart Regions Cluster

September 12, 2019 | By |

Cleveland, Ohio and Toronto, Ontario, September 11, 2019 – The Council of the Great Lakes Region, a binational nonprofit established in 2013 to find new ways of harnessing the strengths and assets of the Great Lakes economic region between the United States and Canada while protecting the environment for future generations, has launched the binational Smart, Sustainable Great Lakes Cities Regional Cluster (the “Cluster”) as part of the Global Cities Team Challenge (GCTC).

With a combined GDP of US$6.0 trillion in 2017, the Great Lakes Region, home to 107 million people, would equal the third largest economy in the world if it were a country, supporting over 50 million U.S. and Canadian jobs. As the region’s cities grow and sectors modernize and expand to meet global demands, their long-term prosperity, competitiveness, and sustainability depends heavily on their ability to design, invest in, and implement smart technologies, infrastructure, and data-driven solutions.

The Cluster will provide all levels of government, industry, academia, and the nonprofit sector in the region a unique opportunity to work together to devise a vision and roadmap for accelerating the region’s digital transformation, and to drive systemic change and citizen behaviour in achieving a smart, sustainable future in our cities and key sectors. The member-driven Cluster will also allow the region to collaborate in:

  • Co-developing and testing smart protocols and standards to support the deployment of groundbreaking Internet of Things and Cyber-Physical Systems applications in an open environment;
  • Demonstrating and scaling smart solutions, as well as sharing best practices and lessons learned, in a non-commercial sandbox environment;
  • Taking advantage of shared investment and procurement opportunities; and,
  • Adopting new techniques for measuring and communicating sustainability, from the city-level to the regional and national level.

Defiance, Ohio is representative of many communities facing water quality challenges in the Great Lakes and are an ideal partner for the development of new approaches, which is why the city is leading the first demonstration project under the Council’s regional cluster. A series of demonstration projects to achieve nutrient reduction goals, located in the Maumee Watershed, will highlight Source Water Protection efforts and demonstrate a replicable, scalable means to achieve a prosperous and sustainable future.

Almost 4,000 miles of streams, creeks and rivers empty into the scenic Maumee River, which has the largest watershed of any river flowing into the Great Lakes. The Upper Maumee River is the sole source of drinking water for the City of Defiance and the surrounding residents. With multiple water quality concerns, the city is taking an active leadership role in watershed planning and other collaborative, sustainable development efforts throughout the region.

Agriculture accounts for 72% of the land use in Defiance county. The Maumee River, consisting of seven sub-basins that drain into the western basin of Lake Erie, has been identified as one of the key sources of nutrients leading to Lake Erie algae blooms, with 85% of those nutrients flowing through the City of Defiance. Nutrient loading has been exacerbated by extreme weather events, and research shows that 70-90% of nutrient loading occurs in 10-20% of these wet weather events.

Quotes

“Achieving sustainability where it most counts, in our cities and sectors, remains a significant challenge, especially in major economic regions like the binational Great Lakes. The new Smart, Sustainable Great Lakes Cluster provides a platform to engage cities and companies in accelerating the adoption of smart, data-driven sustainability solutions that are replicable and scalable in a collaborative, open, and interoperable environment.” – ” Mark Fisher, President and CEO, Council of the Great Lakes Region.

“The Global Cities Team Challenge’s new Smart Regions Collaborative is very pleased to have the Great Lakes Region as an inaugural member. By bringing together stakeholders from all sectors- cities, communities, industry and universities to focus on economic development and continued water quality improvements, the Great Lakes Region will have the players in place to take advantage of cutting edge technologies that can improve people’s lives.” – Jean Rice, Senior Broadband Specialist, National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

“Big challenges require broader and more strategic thinking on multiple fronts; we believe that these innovative and collaborative efforts will lead to better outcomes for water quality, not just in Defiance, but throughout the Great Lakes Region. The City of Defiance is dedicated to working closely with the Council of Great Lakes Region and Defiance County in order to protect water quality while supporting the local economy and agriculture in our region.” – Jeff Leonard, City Administrator for Defiance, Ohio.

“As we look at our region and the Great Lakes as a whole, it is important to remember that we are all partners not just State to State, but Country to Country. Looking at the watershed and larger water quality issues, the old method of trying to assign blame and piling on regulation has not produced a desired effect. I see promise in making ‘clusters’ of rural and urban communities working together for positive outcomes in the future. I think it is an honor for the City and County to be working together with the Council of the Great Lakes Region to demonstrate how this team minded framework can work, and can be replicated throughout the region.” – Ryan Mack, Defiance County Commissioner.

About the Council of the Great Lakes Region

The Council of the Great Lakes Region is a binational nonprofit organization that is dedicated to deepening the United States-Canada relationship in the Great Lakes Region. Its focus is on creating a stronger and more dynamic culture of collaboration in harnessing the region’s economic strengths and assets, improving the well-being and prosperity of the Region’s citizens, and protecting the Great Lakes for future generations. It achieves this mandate by conducting evidenced based policy research, connecting diverse perspectives at events like the Great Lakes Economic Forum, and acting as a strong voice for the Region’s varied economic, social and environmental interests.

About the City of Defiance

Defiance sits prominently at the confluence of the Scenic Maumee River and Auglaize River in Northwest Ohio. Defiance has approximately 17,000 residents, is the county seat for Defiance County and the regional center for a six-county area. Recently named as a Best Hometown by Ohio Magazine, Defiance features a revitalized downtown, charming shops, as well as numerous opportunities for outdoor recreation and exploration of a diverse history within a rich park system. Defiance is a Main Street Community, a Buckeye Trail Town, home to Defiance College and growth is in our future.

About the Global Cities Team Challenge

The GCTC is a collaborative platform for the development of smart cities and communities led by National Institute of Standards and Technology, a bureau of U.S. Department of Commerce, in partnership with other U.S. federal agencies including U.S. Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T), National Science Foundation, International Trade Administration, and National Telecommunications and Information Administration

Contact Information

Mark Fisher
President and CEO / Council of the Great Lakes Region
613.66.2044 / mark@councilgreatlakesregion.org

Jennifer English
MS4 Coordinator / City of Defiance
419.783.4355 / jenglish@cityofdefiance.com

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