It is obvious that our municipal governments cannot solve all these problems alone. All levels of government, the private sector and civil society have to work in partnership to meet the challenge of creating cleaner, safer and more efficient cities. I am very proud to be part of a federal government that understands the need to take a partnership role. Clean air and clean water are among the most pressing urban environmental issues that all of our cities face. How well we respond to these demands dictates in large part both the quality of life of our citizens and the quality of the environment that sustains them.
Transportation is another important issue for all our urban areas.
We have been actively working on the development of Sustainable Transportation Principles that we hope will be part of the discussion when Canada hosts the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Transportation meeting in Victoria later this month. Canada is not unique in its focus on creating better urban environments for its citizens. As you may know, since some of you will be there, Canada is hosting the meeting of APEC Ministers of the Environment in Toronto starting tomorrow. One of the key themes focuses on the challenges we face to make our cities sustainable. Here is the challenge.