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Report Calls for Improved Great Lakes Governance
January 2008
Great Lakes United released a report today describing how governance structures have stalled progress on protecting and restoring the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River ecosystem. The report outlines a series of recommendations that will improve leadership and accountability across the basin and enhance leadership from key institutions.
A Way Forward: Strengthening Decision-Making and Accountability under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement focuses on the role and actions of the federal governments (with a particular emphasis on the Canadian government), the Binational Executive Committee, and the International Joint Commission.
Read the Announcement |
Sixty-five Great Lakes Groups Set Agenda for GLWQA Revitalization
July 2007
Following extensive consultation over the past two years with member groups, Great Lakes United has developed a preliminary position on the review and revision of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. This document was released publicly, and sixty-five groups from across the Great Lakes region signed on and endorsing the recommendations put forth. The full document can be found here.
This position does contain all the details for revisions to the Agreement. Over the next year we will work with our members and develop these further.
Highlights:
Read the full document for more details.
1. We support opening up the GLWQA to revitalize it, provided the governments make a commitment not to weaken provisions currently in the Agreement.
2. The governments should commit to full public involvement in any significant decisions regarding changes to the GLWQA.
3. As part of the review, the governments should ensure that a neutral, professional, detailed assessment of progress and performance under the Agreement is carried out before decisions are made on how to proceed with revitalization of the Agreement.
4. Regarding the scope of the GLWQA, we recommend that the governments adopt the recommendation of the IJC: “The Agreement’s focus should remain on water quality, but take account of a broader array of stressors that impact on it.”
5. The GLWQA should be revised to include the entire St. Lawrence River.
6. New principles and approaches should be added to or expanded in the Agreement.
7. New science provisions should be added to the GLWQA.
8. A strong public role should be embedded in the Agreement.
9. The GLWQA should recognize and define the role of the Tribes, First Nations and Metis in Agreement activities.
10. The GLWQA should define the role of the provinces, states, and local governments in Agreement activities.
11. Commitments in the GLWQA should be written in a way that leads to implementation by fostering enforceability and accountability.
12. Provisions for periodic independent audits of progress generated by the Agreement should be strengthened, and government responses to those audits should be made more specific.
13. The governments should demonstrate their commitment to a revitalized GLWQA by having the Agreement approved and signed by the appropriate government officials (the prime minister and president at a minimum) and the appropriate aboriginal representatives and by making financial commitments adequate to achieve the goals of the Agreement.
Comment on the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement Review in May–June
After a nearly year-long review process during 2006 that involved hundreds of federal, tribal, state, provincial, and local officials, representatives from industry and other economic sectors, members of environmental organizations and academia, and citizens with no affiliation, the Canadian and U.S. governments are now reviewing ten reports on various aspects of the Agreement that resulted from all that effort.
According to the official review timeline, the governments will release an amalgamated and possibly revised document for public comment during May and June of this year.
Please participate in the comment period when the time comes.
Great Lakes United has established an electronic mailing list to empower basin citizens to participate in the review in general in the upcoming comment period in particular.
Click here to sign up for Great Lakes United’s new Agreement mailing list
From this page you can sign up for any of Great Lakes United’s lists. Choose “GLWQA” to sign up for the Agreement list.
The list is the easiest way for us to communicate to you in real time about what is going on with the Agreement. We plan to use the list as an important means of providing the Great Lakes community with suggestions for comment to the government. Signing up for the list will also allow you to communicate to all other members of the list, simply by sending a message to the list address.
Major GLWQA Review Session at Great Lakes United Annual Meeting
The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and its review will be the topic of a two-hour plenary session at Great Lakes United’s Annual General Meeting and Conference, being held June 15–17, in Toronto, Ontario. The session will be held Sunday morning from 10:00 a.m. to noon. We would very much like to have you participate in that session and in the meeting in general. For more information on the event, click here. |
