Mayors across the region, in both Canada and the U.S., are banding together against climate change.
Members of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative are gathering this week in Montreal for an annual meeting.
They announced their plan to move forward with their support of the Paris Climate Agreement. Their move comes in response to President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the agreement.
The mayors also say they’ll push for U.S. funding of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which was eliminated from Trump’s budget plan.
Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster, the new chair for the cities initiative, says the GLRI and the Paris agreement are both high priorities.
"Ultimately we are protectors of the waters of the Great Lakes. and since climate change threatens the waters of the Great Lakes ... we are very, very interested in the question of climate change," he said.
The mayors’ group consists of 130 cities all working together for the benefit of Great Lakes communities and the environment.