Great Lakes Annex condemned by Council of Canadians

TORONTO - The Council of Canadians will join with citizens in Toronto today to stop the Great Lakes Annex. We are calling on the federal government to prevent water diversions and to assert Canada’s rightful jurisdiction over the Great Lakes.

Council of Canadians National Water Campaigner Sara Ehrhardt will be presenting at the public consultations, to be held in Toronto this evening.

The Draft Annex 2001 has been widely criticized for enabling the diversion of Great Lakes waters and jeopardizing the largest freshwater ecosystem in the world.

With only 1% of the Great Lakes waters being renewed every year, the science is still out on whether we are already consuming more than can be replenished. Experts warn that if implemented, the Annex could lead to an environmental disaster.

Under the Annex, Canada will not be able to prevent water diversions, regardless of their duration, scale, or impact on the Great Lakes.

Only the government of Canada has the jurisdiction to negotiate and enter into agreements with the United States. The provinces, and therefore Canadian concerns, are sidelined in the Great Lakes Governors' negotiations.

“This agreement undermines Canada’s jurisdiction over the Great Lakes and erodes our authority over this shared resource,” says Ehrhardt. “This is nothing more than a US scheme to drain our Great Lakes dry.”

According to Steven Shrybman, an international trade lawyer, the Annex also could not withstand challenges from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and could increase our exposure to international trade disputes.

“By allowing the Great Lakes Governors to push the Annex through, our federal government is abdicating its responsibility to protect Canada’s shared waters and is allowing US economic interests to set the agenda for Great Lakes water management,” says Eduardo Sousa, Ontario regional organizer for the Council of Canadians.

“Why is our federal government remaining silent while the provinces rubber-stamp what is clearly a unilateral US water grab?” asks Ehrhardt. “Paul Martin must stand up in defense of Canada’s water and sink the Annex.”

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