Posted: May 17, 2021
The Pacte d’amitié and Ottawa Riverkeeper: protecting the Ottawa River is about interregional collaboration
The MRC d’Argenteuil, the MRC de Papineau, and the United Counties of Prescott and Russell (UCPR) have launched a video to introduce their partnership with Ottawa Riverkeeper, a three-year commitment to shoreline cleanups along the Ottawa River.
National Capital Region – May 17, 2021: After a year that saw most of their plans put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the MRC d’Argenteuil, the MRC de Papineau, and the United Counties of Prescott and Russell (UCPR) have launched a video to introduce their partnership with Ottawa Riverkeeper, a three-year commitment to shoreline cleanups along the Ottawa River. The brand new video shows the incredible importance of joint efforts and concern for environmental health by bringing together the leaders of these three communities. The multi-stakeholder agreement was signed in 2019 and takes a broad scale and cooperative view of water stewardship that Ottawa Riverkeeper has long advocated for.
The Prefect of the MRC de Papineau, Benoit Lauzon, shared some words about the significance of cooperation: “I think it’s important that when we have neighbours like the MRC d’Argenteuil and the United Counties of Prescott and Russell, when we are unified by a stunning, majestic river, to be able to work together, find new ideas, and create new developments because it is the citizens who will benefit from it.”
His fellow neighbour to the east, the Prefect of the MRC d’Argenteuil, Scott Pearce, explained that collaboration to protect the Ottawa River is a responsibility: “Canada has 20% of the freshwater of the entire planet. If we as Canadians, as Quebecers, don’t protect water, we’re doing a disservice to everyone. It would be irresponsible of us not to work together on it.”
Pacte d’Amitié signing event, August 2019
When asked about the value of partnering with Ottawa Riverkeeper, the Warden of the United Counties of Prescott and Russell, Stéphane Sarrazin, responded: “20 towns in Prescott and Russell source their drinking water from the Ottawa River, so it’s very important to us to be able to collaborate with organizations wanting to protect and preserve our water quality. We have no choice other than to get involved.”
Jean-François Houle, the Conservation and Education Manager at the Plaisance National Park in Papineau, commented by saying that effective conservation requires active leadership and communication between neighbouring communities. The biodiversity expert proceeded to explain: “Nature is not a succession of isolated spaces. Everything is interconnected.”
When the partnership was officially signed in 2019, former Ottawa Riverkeeper Executive Director, Patrick Nadeau, addressed the three communities: “The Pacte d’amitié is a perfect example of what we should be following in the entire watershed. As human beings, we happened to decide to draw a line right in the middle of the majestic Ottawa River. [The Pacte d’amitié] was able to see beyond that. You were able to create bonds of friendship that will make it possible for us to better protect our river.”
iCleanup: a tool for shoreline cleanups throughout the Ottawa River watershed
Since 2020, in-person events have been limited or even forbidden. However, the Pacte d’amitié and Ottawa Riverkeeper have been hard at work trying to make environmental protection more accessible to all, especially online. The collaboration has therefore successfully launched a brand new all-in-one digital shoreline cleanup platform, iCleanup.
This will serve as a tool for the communities of the MRC d’Argenteuil, the MRC de Papineau, the United Counties of Prescott and Russell, as well as for the rest of the Ottawa River watershed now and into the future. With iCleanup, an individual can track their own cleanups to see how much waste they and the watershed community have kept out of local waterways! That said, please ensure that you only conduct shoreline cleanups when COVID restrictions allow it and it is safe to do so.
In addition, to further empower the citizens of these communities with the information that they require, Ottawa Riverkeeper has published a Guide to Solo Shoreline Cleanups and created the Shoreline Cleanup Community, a safe space for people to engage with others, ask questions, get informed, and most of all, build a community dedicated to protecting the waterways of the Ottawa River watershed.
Ottawa Riverkeeper will continue to work with the MRC d’Argenteuil, MRC de Papineau, the United Counties of Prescott and Russell, and the more than 40 municipalities that make up these regions to strive towards cleaner, happier communities on both sides of the Ottawa River.
– 30 –
For questions, please contact:
Alejandro Prescott-Cornejo
Community Outreach Coordinator
Ottawa Riverkeeper
aprescott-cornejo@ottawariverkeeper.ca
Why are certain levels of government letting waterfront dwellings to connect sewage pipes from toliets to septic tank then to river….. These systems promise perfection yet a mistake upstream affects drinking water downstream.