Lake Ontario Waterkeeper is a

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

-based

environmental justice Environmental justice is a social movement to address the unfair exposure of poor and marginalized communities to harms from hazardous waste, resource extraction, and other land uses.Schlosberg, David. (2007) ''Defining Environmental Justic ...

advocacy group founded in 2001, with

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border ...

, the

Great Lakes Basin The Great Lakes Basin consists of the Great Lakes and the surrounding lands of the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin in the United States, and the province of Ontario in Canada, whose dir ...

, and allied waterways at heart. It is a licensed member of the New York-based

Waterkeeper Alliance Waterkeeper Alliance is a worldwide network of environmental organizations founded in 1999 in response to a growing movement of organizations with such names as Riverkeeper, Baykeeper and Soundkeeper. By December 2019, the group said it had gro ...

, and a registered Canadian charity. It is led by President Mark Mattson, an environmental lawyer, and Vice President Krystyn Tully.

Actions and initiatives

In Summer of 2001 LOW triggered a $250 Million Federal Government remediation plan at Port Granby near

Port Hope, Ontario Port Hope is a municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, approximately east of Toronto and about west of Kingston. It is located at the mouth of the Ganaraska River on the north shore of Lake Ontario, in the west end of Northumberland County. ...

. The dump, was established by

Eldorado Mining and Refining Limited Eldorado Resources was a Canadian mining company active between 1926 and 1988. The company was originally established by brothers Charles and Gilbert LaBine as a gold mining enterprise in 1926, but transitioned to focus on radium in the 1930s an ...

(and now managed by Cameco Corp.). In 2005 LOW campaigned the City of

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between To ...

to disclose timely data about repeated sewage discharges into Lake Ontario. In 2006 LOW produced "Heart of A Lake" concert tour to several cities in

Ontario, Canada Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

''blending activism with art''. Starting in 2006 LOW started a campaign opposing the burning of tires by Lafarge operations in Bath, Ontario. In 2007 LOW compelled the City of

to disclose specific reasons why beaches are closed, and used the legal system to force the City to take responsibility. Citing a "little-known provincial environmental guideline called F-5 that says municipalities must ensure that beaches are clean enough for swimming 95 per cent of the time." This builds on a 2006 LOW report "Investigating Municipal Beaches: Lessons from Bluffer's Park" which cited some beaches were closed to swimming 42 per cent of the time. In 2009, the organization launched Swim Drink Fish Music, an online music club which features rare and exclusive tracks by Canadian musicians.

Notable supporters

The Tragically Hip The Tragically Hip, often referred to simply as the Hip, were a Canadian rock band formed in Kingston, Ontario in 1984, consisting of vocalist Gord Downie, guitarist Paul Langlois, guitarist Rob Baker (known as Bobby Baker until 1994), bassis ...

and particularly their frontman

Gord Downie Gordon Edgar Downie (February 6, 1964 – October 17, 2017) was a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, musician, writer and activist. He was the singer and lyricist for the Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip, which he fronted from its form ...

Edward Burtynsky Edward Burtynsky (born February 22, 1955) is a Canadian photographer and artist known for his large format photographs of industrial landscapes. His works depict locations from around the world that represent the increasing development of indust ...

, photographer *

Sarah Harmer Sarah Harmer (born November 12, 1970) is a Canadian singer, songwriter and environmental activist. Early life Born and raised in Burlington, Ontario, Harmer gained her first exposure to the musician's lifestyle as a teenager, when her older sis ...

, folk musician * David Suzuki, Canadian environmentalist and broadcaster. *

Bruce Cockburn Bruce Douglas Cockburn ( ; born May 27, 1945) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist. His song styles range from folk to jazz-influenced rock and his lyrics cover a broad range of topics including human rights, environmental issues, p ...

, musician * Chris Brown, musician *Law Foundation of OntarioThe Law Foundation of Ontario Selects Six Public Interest Organizations for Innovative Articling Fellowships
Press Release. June 16, 2005.

References

External links

Lake Ontario Waterkeeper website

{{Authority control 2001 establishments in Ontario Environmental organizations based in Ontario Charities based in Canada Organizations based in Toronto Organizations established in 2001

Actions and initiatives

Notable supporters

See also

References

External links