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Remedial Action Plans
IJC Recommendation
"Given the public's right to know the achievements
in each AOC and what actions to expect in the future, the Parties should
prepare a consolidated report on RAP progress that lists the accomplishments
to date, funds expended, what remains to be done and the funds and timing
required to finish the necessary work. Governments must clearly state
what role they will be playing with each AOC and what resources they will
be dedicating to restoring the impaired beneficial uses."
Response to Recommendation
The Canadian and Ontario governments recognize that communicating progress
in the AOCs is important; however, the level of reporting required under
Annex 2 of the GLWQA does not fully meet this need. Many additional mechanisms
can be used to disseminate information to the public and obtain feedback
on program priorities and decision making. These include the following:
- agency participation and liaison with local implementation leaders;
- local public advisory committee involvement and other community-based
participation on implementation teams;
- consultation with communities on specific implementation actions such
as the development of Natural Heritage Strategies and Sediment Management
Strategies;
- Remedial Action Plan (RAP) newsletters highlighting progress (e.g.,
in Hamilton and Quinte), distributed within the AOC and beyond;
- information-sharing and technology transfer sessions on RAP issues,
sponsored by Environment Canada's Great Lakes Sustainability Fund (GLSF,
formerly Cleanup Fund) and Ontario;
- regular Project Summaries Reports of the GLSF;
- maintenance of RAP Web sites for all Ontario's AOCs;
- RAP progress updates on a lakewide basis through LaMP reporting, annually
for Lake Ontario and every two years for Lakes Erie and Superior.
AOC specific workplans are critical for identifying what remains to be
done to complete RAP implementation, which will ultimately lead to the
recovery of the impaired beneficial uses. As Canada and Ontario establish
a renewed agreement for the Great Lakes (COA), representatives of the
two governments are reviewing the status of RAPs and developing work plans
that will outline the required implementation actions and monitoring needs.
The federal and provincial governments' roles and specific commitments
to implement such actions will be specified in the new COA. Through this
review process Canada and Ontario will consolidate information on the
actions that will be expected in the future and the accomplishments that
have been made to date.
The federal government's 2000 budget made a clear commitment of resources
dedicated to restoring impaired beneficial uses. This has ensured the
continuation of the Great Lakes program. The budget allocated $40 million
over the next five years, which includes a new $30-million implementation
fund¾ the Great Lakes Sustainability Fund (GLSF 2020) which will
fund federal implementation actions in the AOCs. Partnerships are important
for the successful implementation of RAP activities and are being actively
sought through the federal program and the Great Lakes Sustainability
Fund. As effective partnerships and proposals are developed, the resources
dedicated to individual projects are announced to the public. Ontario
is also committed to working with communities to ensure that they apply
voluntary and regulatory instruments to implement RAPs.
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