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Introduction
The Government of Canada welcomes the recommendations contained in the
Tenth Biennial Report of the International Joint Commission (IJC).
Canada remains strongly committed to the Great Lakes Water Quality
Agreement (GLWQA) and appreciates the ongoing work of the IJC, its
views on progress under the GLWQA, and its advice on opportunities to
improve the performance and effectiveness of government programs designed
to accelerate progress on cleaning up the Great Lakes.
The Great Lakes Action Plan, launched in 1989, formalized the Canadian
government's actions to clean up and protect the Great Lakes ecosystem
and to fulfill Canada's international obligations under the GLWQA. The
program was renewed in 1994 as the Great Lakes 2000 initiative, a six-year
partnership among seven federal departments. In 2000, the Canadian government
announced that an additional $40 million would be dedicated to completing
federal actions required to remediate Canadian Areas of Concern (AOCs).
This initiative is part of the Great Lakes Basin 2020 Action Plan, which
provides the framework for the coordination of the efforts of eight federal
departments to restore, conserve, and protect the Great Lakes basin over
the next five years.
The Governments of Canada and Ontario are currently renegotiating the
Canada-Ontario Agreement Respecting the Great Lakes
Basin Ecosystem (COA) - the fifth such federal-provincial arrangement
since 1971. The COA affirms the commitment of both governments to fulfill
Canada's obligations under the GLWQA; the COA also establishes a strategic
framework for coordinating shared federal-provincial responsibilities
in relation to the Great Lakes basin ecosystem. The Canadian and Ontario
governments look forward to signing a new COA by the end of summer 2001.
The responses to the recommendations of the IJC's Tenth
Biennial Report reflect the input of several of the federal and
provincial agencies that contribute to the overall Canadian program on
the Great Lakes. These agencies include Environment Canada, Health Canada,
Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, Canadian
Heritage, Transport Canada, Public Works and Government Services Canada,
Natural Resources Canada, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, the
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture,
Food & Rural Affairs. The progress that has been made in the Great
Lakes over the last 50 years, however, cannot be attributed to governments
alone. The achievements of the program would not have been possible without
the substantial contribution of our partners - industry, municipalities,
environmental and conservation interest groups, conservation authorities,
First Nations, and private citizens - who all help to deliver, in their
own right, significant environmental results.
The IJC correctly asserts that many challenges lie ahead. The major tasks
include continuing the cleanup in AOCs; controlling, and preventing the
further introduction of, exotic species; mitigating the impact of rapid
urban growth on environmental conditions throughout the basin; and reducing
contaminants transported in the atmosphere over long distances to the
Great Lakes. The Canadian and Ontario governments and their partners remain
committed to continuing to restore and maintain the chemical, physical,
and biological integrity of the Great Lakes basin ecosystem, and ensuring
that it has a healthy, prosperous, and sustainable future.
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