Water - Great Lakes Annex

The Great Lakes Annex Agreements: Still Leaking!
Council of Canadians demands no diversions, no exceptions

The second draft of the Great Lakes Annex 2001 Implementing Agreements continues to threaten the health of the Great Lakes and significantly weakens Canadian sovereignty over these shared waters.

Last summer, the Council of Canadians joined citizens in Canada and the United States to criticize the agreements for the second time. Designed by the governments of Ontario, Quebec, and eight U.S. states, the agreements would govern water diversions from the Great Lakes, the largest fresh-water ecosystem in the world, and a source of drinking water for 40 million people.

The Annex Agreements were originally intended to stop to water diversions from the Great Lakes, and while the second draft of the agreements is substantially improved, it still leaves the Great Lakes unprotected. The Council of Canadians is extremely concerned about the implications of these Agreements and we urge you to make submissions to the Council of Great Lakes Governors.

Here are four reasons why the second draft of the Annex agreements is still full of holes:

It threatens Canadian sovereignty over the Great Lakes
We continue to be concerned over the lack of involvement of the Canadian government at the negotiating table where these agreements are being discussed. The International Joint Commission (IJC) is responsible for overseeing and arbitrating conflicts over water issues between Canada and the U.S. The second draft of the Annex agreements empowers another body with the responsibility for dispute resolution – making the IJC irrelevant, therefore restricting Canada’s ability to responsibly steward the future of the Great Lakes.

It allows for diversions from the Great Lakes
While the second draft allows for “no diversions” from the Great Lakes basin, it makes certain “exceptions.” The agreements grant special rights to communities and counties that straddle the Great Lakes. Communities that are exempted from the “no diversions” clause are not required to return a minimum amount of water to the Great Lakes basin, if at all. These exceptions – along with the infamous Chicago diversion of 2 billion gallons a day – allow for vast and ever-growing amounts of water to be removed from the Lakes.

It does not protect First Nations’ right to water
The agreements make vague references to First Nations’ rights to water and lakebeds, but fail to acknowledge Aboriginal people’s rights to use, protect and conserve the water in the Great Lakes. First Nations groups say they were not adequately consulted during the negotiation of either draft of the Annex agreements.

It offers little opportunity for public input
The public consultation process put in place for this round of negotiations was even worse than last year. Once again, the agreements were released mid-summer, but this time with only 60 days for public comment. More problematic, the meetings were limited to a two-week period in five cities (though the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources eventually bowed to public pressure, agreeing to add three cities, over another three weeks).

The Council of Canadians is leading the fight to protect the Great Lakes from diversions, and to ensure that Canada has a voice in how this precious resource is managed.

Great Lakes Annex