Canada shares the Great Lakes with the United States and Tribes and First Nations. Some on the U.S. side seem to have forgotten that, and a nearly century-old treaty that covers all boundary waters. But the Canadians haven't forgotten. All Great Lakes advocates can be thankful for that; from the provincial view of "Americans," Canada may be the ace card in rescuing the Lakes from water raids.
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The federal government also wants the text of the governors' draft agreements changed to acknowledge the primacy of the obligations of both Canada and the U.S. as set out in the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty and the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. Such changes, Ottawa suggests, would reduce the exposure of initiatives taken under the governors' agreements to potential legal challenges.
While this might sound like a lot of legal mumbo-jumbo, it is critical that the agreements spell out in the clearest terms the precedence of the Boundary Waters Treaty should a conflict arise, and the International Joint Commission's central role in resolving any disputes.
Posted by Dave at January 24, 2005 09:30 AM