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To: All Chiefs
of Ontario |
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The GLWQA was first signed in 1972 reflecting Canada and the United States’ commitment to resolve a wide range of water quality issues facing the Great Lakes and the international section of the St. Lawrence River. A revised GLWQA was signed in 1978 and amended by Protocol in 1987. The GLWQA, as revised and amended, seeks to restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the waters of the Great Lakes basin ecosystem. The GLWQA adopts an ecosystem approach (one which considers the interaction of air, land, water and living things, including humans) and calls for a broad range of pollution-reduction programs. It calls for the elimination of persistent toxic substances and programs to restore the quality of open waters. The GLWQA provides for consultation between the two governments and periodic reviews of the operation and effectiveness of the GLWQA as a whole. The review of the GLWQA was triggered by the release of the International Joint Commission (IJC) 12 th Biennial Report on September 2004, will be formally launched by the governments of Canada and the United States in March 2006. Environment Canada will be working with the Chiefs of Ontario to co-develop a consultation process for the GLWQA review to begin March 2006. The following pages provide the following information: I. An Introduction |
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I. INTRODUCTION Aboriginal peoples have a critical role in making sustainable development a reality in Canada, given their increasing responsibilities for managing their lands, the importance of the environment to their traditional way of life and the fact that some aboriginal communities are often the first to experience the impacts of environmental change. In particular, aboriginal peoples have expressed an interest in being involved in discussions relating to Great Lakes governance. This summary is part of an information package on the Canada-U.S. Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA or Agreement) and the upcoming review of the Agreement, which aims to ensure that aboriginal peoples have sufficient information to be able to effectively participate in the review. |
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| II. THE CANADA – U.S.
GREAT LAKES WATER QUALITY AGREEMENT
What it is The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement is a bilateral agreement between the Governments of Canada and the United States that seeks to “restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the waters of the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem”, defined as “the interacting components of air, land, water and living organisms, including humans, within the drainage basin of the St. Lawrence River at or upstream from the point at which this river becomes the international boundary between Canada and the United States”. The Agreement commits the two Governments to making a maximum effort to develop programs, practices and technologies necessary for a better understanding of the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem, and to eliminate or reduce to the maximum extent practicable, the discharge of pollutants into the Great Lakes System. The Agreement also adopts shared goals and objectives and creates joint activities and institutions to help the U.S. and Canada to achieve their goals. First signed in 1972, the GLWQA was designed to control ‘point-source’ water pollution from sewage and industry. In 1978, a new Agreement was signed, seeking the restoration and maintenance of the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the waters of the Great Lakes basin ecosystem, and becoming more focused on an ecosystem approach to considering the interaction of air, water, land and living things, including humans. The 1978 Agreement shifted the focus from conventional pollutants (e.g. phosphorus and bacteria) to toxic and hazardous polluting substances, and adopting a virtual elimination policy for persistent toxic substances. The “Great Lakes System” is defined in the Agreement as “the streams, river, lakes and other bodies of water that are within the drainage basin on the St. Lawrence River at or upstream from the point at which this river becomes the international boundary between Canada and the United States”. Following further revisions in 1983, the Agreement was amended by Protocol in 1987 and called for several new programs and initiatives through Annexes to the Agreement. For example, an annex was added calling for the Governments to identify the most contaminated areas within the Great Lakes basin, called “Areas of Concern” (AOCs), and to restore and protect the beneficial uses in these AOCS or in open lake waters through the development of “Remedial Action Plans” and “Lakewide Management Plans”. Other new or revised annexes address: pollution from land runoff, contaminated sediments, contaminated groundwater, surveillance and monitoring programs, specific objectives for persistent toxic substances, airborne toxic substances and research coordination.Agreement Objectives The general water quality objectives of the Agreement state that the waters of the Great Lakes system should be free from, as a result of human activity:
More specific objectives are contained in the Annexes to the Agreement, and relate to:
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| III. The Review of the Great
Lakes Water Quality Agreement
Background to the Review Article X of the Agreement provides that a comprehensive review of the operation and effectiveness of the Agreement be conducted following every third biennial report of the International Joint Commission. The review and consultation provisions within the Agreement provide the basis upon which to address emerging challenges over time. Since the last amendment of the Agreement by Protocol in 1987, a general view has persisted that the priority be the implementation of the Agreement and not its review. As a result, reviews of the Agreement conducted in 1992 and 1999 were limited in scope. Currently, however, there is widespread support within the Great Lakes community for a comprehensive review of the Agreement, an obligation which was triggered by the release of the International Joint Commission’s 12 th Biennial Report on September 13, 2004. The review of the Agreement will be formally launched by the Governments of Canada and the United States in the spring of this year.The Agreement Review Process To prepare for the review, the Canadian and U.S. Governments have developed a science-based Agreement review process operating under the guiding principles of openness, transparency and inclusiveness. The draft review process was the subject of public consultation in 2005.The Scope of the Review The review will be comprehensive, examining all aspects of the Agreement, including articles, annexes and terms of reference, as well as institutional bodies (such as the International Joint Commission and the Great Lakes Regional Office) which play a role in the implementation of the Agreement. To meet the review requirements contained in the Agreement, the review will consider the prescribed processes and activities (operations), as well as the achievement of prescribed goals or objectives (effectiveness) set out in the Agreement.Key Questions to be Addressed by the Review Overarching questions to be addressed in conducting the review are as follows:
Further Questions for Aboriginal Peoples in the Review of the Agreement In addition to the above overarching review questions, aboriginal peoples may also wish to consider:
How should aboriginal peoples be involved in the review and implementation? IV. LEARN MORE ABOUT THE AGREEMENT Documents Available from Environment Canada
Websites Environment Canada Great Lakes: International Joint Commission: Joint Programs between Canada and the United States: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Great Lakes National
Program Office: |
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