2007 Canada-Ontario Agreement

2007 Canada-Ontario Agreement
Respecting the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem

The 2007 Canada-Ontario Agreement Respecting the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem (COA) will help meet the challenges presented to the Great Lakes by a growing population as well as continue cleaning up the legacy of past pollution.

The 2007 COA is the seventh such agreement to be signed by the governments of Canada and Ontario since 1971. Through the COA, the governments pool their resources and funds to work with a variety of partners at the local level in the Great Lakes community with the goal of restoring and maintaining the health of the Great Lakes Basin ecosystem.

The 2007 COA builds on achievements under the 2002 COA, as well as previous agreements, to continue efforts at reducing pollution, cleaning up degraded hot spots, dealing with invasive species and protecting the biodiversity of the Great Lakes Basin, which contains 180 fish species.  COA also includes two entirely new areas – determining the impacts of climate change, and protecting sources of drinking water – as well as a greater emphasis on increased awareness and appreciation of the value of the Great Lakes.

The 2007 COA has been signed by the Ministry of the Environment with the Ministries of Natural Resources and Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs, and six federal departments and one federal agency. The Ontario Government has committed more than $32 million to COA from 2007 to 2010.

Information

• 2007 Canada-Ontario Agreement - Respecting The Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem
• Canada-Ontario Agreement and Annexes (June 12, 2002) [PDF]
• Canada-Ontario Agreement - Respecting The Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem: 2002–2003 Biennial Progress Report
• Canada-Ontario Agreement - Respecting The Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem: 2004–2005 Biennial Progress Report
• Canada-Ontario Agreement - Respecting The Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem:  2002 – 2007 Progress Report

Media

• Canada And Ontario Announce Agreement To Improve And Protect The Great Lakes (August 16, 2007) [HTML]
• Media Backgrounder: Backgrounder: The Canada-Ontario Agreement Respecting the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem (August 16, 2007) [HTML]
• Province’s Water Further Protected: New Law Bans Water Diversions, Implements Conservation Charges To Strengthen Protection Of Great Lakes And Water Resources Province-wide (June 1, 2007) [HTML]
• Media Backgrounder: New Legislation Provides Stronger Protection For Great Lakes And Ontario’s Water Resources (June 1, 2007) [HTML]
• Canada And Ontario Continue To Improve The Great Lakes (March 15, 2007) [HTML]
• Media Backgrounder: Canada-Ontario Agreement Shows Renewed Commitment To The Health Of The Great Lakes Basin (March 15, 2007) [HTML]
• Legislature Passes Clean Water Act: Protecting Drinking Water Sources Will Benefit All Ontarians (October 18, 2007) [HTML]
• Media Backgrounder: Ontario’s New Clean Water Act: Why We Need It, How It Will Work (October 18, 2006) [HTML]

Great Lakes Portraits

To further inform Canadians on the work being done on the Great Lakes, the governments of Canada and Ontario in September 2001, released a number of Great Lakes Portraits which illustrate some of the successes over the previous six years, and some of the future challenges facing the Great Lakes Basin ecosystem.

• Nature Needs a Few Good Friends (Bringing Back the Don River)
• Getting the Job Done One Step at a Time (Mercury in the Environment)
• Farmers Target Non-Source Pollution (Agriculture in the Great Lakes Basin)
• Ten Years of Hard Work Pays Off (Severn Sound Remedial Action Plan)
• There's Something in the Air (Atmospheric Deposition in the Great Lakes)
• A Lake in Flux (Lake Erie)
• Invaders Pose Major Threat to Lakes (Aquatic Non-Native Invasive Species)
• Something Old, Something New (Municipal Wastewater Treatment)
• Reclaiming a Neglected Resource (Restoring and Preserving Great Lakes Wetlands)

Resources

• Great Lakes programs – Publications Catalogue
• Inland Lakes and Rivers programs – Publications Catalogue
• 2007 - 2008 Guide To Eating Ontario Sport Fish

Return to the Great Lakes page