Thank you, Mr. Chair.
After two failed Great Lakes treaty attempts, crisis drove the U.S. and Canada to ratify our treaty-based binational mandate to establish and maintain cross-border relationships, to build a body of freshwater science on which to base management decisions and, of course, to control sea lamprey.
These tasks were given to us, as political leadership understood that combatting invasive species, coordinating harvest policies and leveraging shared resources could only happen if we tackled challenges together. In other words, where water flows over borders, border-blind management must follow.
Our treaty drafters saw water as foreign policy, and the commission's binational engagement strategy proves it. That's not to suggest that strong domestic freshwater policies aren't needed. History underscores the importance of respecting subnational jurisdictions and rights holders. Our commission considers partnerships, the application of traditional knowledge and dialogue with first nations to be success elements.
Our convention drafters made establishing and maintaining working relationships a primary goal. That's because they understood that waterborne threats and opportunities never stay in one jurisdictional silo.
Canada has impressive freshwater resources that contribute to our triple bottom line. That's our social, economic and ecological well-being. Despite this, when it comes to Canada's fourth coast, bilateralism is the only way to protect the resource and respect jurisdictional confines, including first nations' rights, while ensuring good governance and sustainability.
The U.S. and state governments have demonstrated an understanding of this good governance potential via infrastructure renewal, habitat restoration, research and coordinated management. That coordinated management occurs under the commission-facilitated joint strategic plan for management of Great Lakes fisheries, a plan that's been signed by the subnational units.
For our commission and our partners, the joint strategic plan, which I have provided for distribution, has proven its worth. Ontario, the Great Lakes states and indigenous partners work together to make shared decisions. This non-binding, consensus-based strategy ensures that the management of Great Lakes resources by each of the jurisdictions benefits all the jurisdictions. Water, in this context, is not a cause for division. Rather, water unites. Our joint strategic plan is an example of that.
Fisheries managers have prioritized habitat protections and improvement despite the daunting task. Five lake committees, which are joint strategic plan elements, provide managers from provincial, state, indigenous and federal agencies a forum for discussion. They work through a common framework to identify impediments to fish production and then pinpoint management actions, termed “environmental priorities”.
These environmental priorities provide structure, continuity and value here and in the U.S. Coordinated partnerships then find resources to implement habitat protections. These projects, which vary in complexity from large-scale deepwater reef restoration to small culvert replacements, are advancing after decades of inaction.
This process of identifying impediments and actions, funding streams and project accomplishment goals is the vision for sustainable Great Lakes, but the process is only possible due to the joint strategic plan, which helps managers find shared priorities. Prior to the commission's establishment, this exchange would have been impossible. Success only became possible when we started acting beyond our one border.
With the benefit of hindsight, it's clear that viewing water as a foreign policy matter is neither novel nor optional. We can't afford to view boundary waters as just domestic resources because our trading partners see them through a foreign policy lens. This divergent view is why the interface our commission uses in the U.S. flows through the Department of State but through DFO here in Canada. It's a matter of priority.
In closing, water can separate or unite us. After years of divided governance and strife, Great Lakes water has become a uniting force, but that state has taken effort. Establishing and maintaining binational working relationships on this scale has taken decades of trust-building, but the investment of energy positively impacts on the triple bottom line for the communities and governments of the basin.
We hope this study will yield positive results, so that all Canadians can enjoy the benefits of well-managed and sustainable freshwater resources. We stand ready to help in any way we can.