Canada Minister McKenna discusses environmental issues with USA

“Canada and the United States are connected in many ways, from trade and investment, to our integrated energy system and shared environment. We’ve had tremendous success over the past decades working together for clean air and clean water on both sides of our border.

"I look forward to continuing that successful collaboration on important issues from the Great Lakes, to clean air, to energy innovation that will protect the health of our communities and support good middle-class jobs,” said Minister McKenna.

Canada and the U.S. had for long been cooperating on environmental issues such as their signing of Canada-U.S. Air Quality Agreement in 1991 to address air pollution leading to acid rain, and the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, first signed in 1972 and updated in 2012 to protect and restore the diversity of ecosystems on Earth.

Minister McKenna met with Canadian and U.S. representative members of cities along the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River and U.S. congressional and highlighted Canada’s commitment to protecting the shared freshwater resources and ongoing implementation of the Canada-U.S. Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.

On Thursday Minister McKenna met with Scott Pruitt, Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and said Canada was committed to environmental cooperation with the U.S., and domestic and international commitment to innovation and clean economic growth.

While speaking at an event for the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. Minister McKenna also focused on Canada’s support for climate action, clean technologies and innovative practices to new growth opportunities and job creation.

(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)