ENVI Committee Report

LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS

Recommendation 1

The Committee therefore recommends that, in its response to the Council of Great Lakes Governors, the Canadian government urge the Governors and the Premiers to base the criteria in the Standard on the Precautionary Principle.

Recommendation 2

The Committee therefore recommends that, in its response to the Council of Great Lakes Governors, the Canadian government urge the governors and the premiers to include specific language in the Agreements stating clearly that in the final analysis of proposals for water removal, the Boundary Waters Treaty will prevail and that the IJC must remain the final arbiter of decisions regarding such proposals.

Recommendation 3

The Committee therefore recommends in the strongest of terms that, in its response to the Council of Great Lakes Governors, the Canadian government urge the governors and the premiers to revise and strengthen the Agreements. In so doing the Agreements should adopt the language and the intent of the recommendations of the IJC as outlined in their year 2000 report on the Protection of the Waters of the Great Lakes as minimum requirements for the approval of projects to remove water from the Great Lakes Basin, as the IJC has recommended.

Recommendation 4

The Committee recommends that, until the IJC is satisfied that the Agreements meet their recommendations and that their implementation will not cause harm to the ecological integrity of the Great Lakes Basin, Foreign Affairs Canada adopt the position of placing a moratorium on any new bulk sales or removals of surface water or groundwater from the Great Lakes Basin, and that the Government of Canada recommend this position in its response to the Council of Great Lakes Governors.

Recommendation 5

The Committee therefore recommends that the Canadian government remove its support for the 5% maximum use threshold which it considers to be too high and urge the IJC to revisit this provision of its year 2000 recommendations.

Recommendation 6

The Committee recommends that the Canadian government, with the Department of the Environment as lead agency, carry out an interdepartmental analysis of its scientific capacity in freshwater research as well as federal water policy and that it report back to the Committee the results of this analysis. Subsequent to this, the Committee recommends that, in its efforts to reallocate money between and within departments to priority areas, the government apportion, in a coordinated manner, significantly increased resources to freshwater research.

Recommendation 7

The Committee recommends that the Canadian government more fully explore its referral options under the Boundary Waters Treaty and that it support the IJC by supplying it with more timely information, better following up on its recommendations, and ensuring that its resources are adequate.