Question Period Note: Canada-U.S. Cooperation through the Boundary Waters Treaty

Canada-U.S. Cooperation through the Boundary Waters Treaty

• Protecting Canada’s freshwater, including the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River, is a priority for the Government of Canada.

• Canada and the United States work cooperatively through the Boundary Waters Treaty and the International Joint Commission to manage our shared water resources.

• The Government of Canada is committed to working with the United States to find effective solutions to transboundary water issues.

LAKE ONTARIO FLOODING
• The Government of Canada recognizes the impact of Lake Ontario flooding in 2017 and 2019 on communities.

• The Government of Canada will continue to work collaboratively with provinces and territories, municipalities, as well as the US and the International Joint Commission, to prevent and mitigate the impacts of extreme weather events such as flooding.

LAKE MEMPHREMAGOG WATER QUALITY

• The Government of Canada welcomes Vermont’s decision to treat all wastewater from the Coventry Landfill outside of the Lake Memphrémagog basin.

INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARY WATERS TREATY ACT
•The International Boundary Waters Treaty Act is the domestic legislation related to the Canada-United States Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909.
•The Boundary Waters Treaty establishes equal rights for both Canada and the United States for the management of shared boundary and transboundary waters.
•The International Joint Commission (IJC) was created under the Boundary Waters Treaty to prevent and resolve transboundary water disputes between Canada and the United States as well as to act as an adviser to the two governments.

LAKE ONTARIO FLOODING IN 2019
•The IJC’s International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board manages outflows of Lake Ontario at the Moses-Saunders Dam in Cornwall, Ontario, and Massena, New York. The Board takes into consideration the impacts on both Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River, and must provide all possible relief to the residents, users, and interests of the water system.
•In 2017 and 2019, water levels in all the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River were at or near record-highs, resulting in flooding and erosion in some regions of Ontario, Québec, and New York. Residents along parts of the Lake Ontario and upper St. Lawrence River believe the IJC’s water management plan caused the high water levels.
•Above average precipitation throughout the Great Lakes basin over the winter and spring was the primary driver of high water levels. Stakeholders are concerned that the IJC is not doing enough to reduce the risk of flooding before next spring.
•On November 22, 2019, the IJC authorized its Board to continue to deviate from its water management plan in an effort to focus on reducing the water level on Lake Ontario.

LAKE MEMPHREMAGOG WATER QUALITY
•A proposal to expand the landfill located in Coventry, Vermont, near the border with Quebec, created concerns about the impacts on water quality in Lake Memphrémagog.
•Former Member of Parliament Denis Paradis (Brome-Missisquoi) introduced a Private Members’ Bill to amend the International Boundary Waters Treaty Act to give the IJC authority for water quality in all boundary waters.
•The Vermont Department of Environmental Quality decision allowed the landfill expansion, while at the same time requiring all wastewater from the landfill to be treated outside of the Lake Memphrémagog basin in response to citizen concern for water quality.

Question Period notes as provided by the Department to the Minister’s Office