First Great Lakes Triennial Assessment of Progress
The comment period closed on Friday, April 15, 2016. Thank you for your comments. Comments have been compiled and are available on this page.
The first triennial cycle under the 2012 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement completed its full circle on Nov. 28, when the IJC released its First Triennial Assessment of Progress on Great Lakes Water Quality. The report is the culmination of extensive research by the IJC’s Great Lakes advisory boards and staff, as well as a comprehensive consultation process with the public, to determine if Canada and the United States are meeting their Agreement obligations.
The International Joint Commission (IJC) holds public meetings every three years to discuss progress in cleaning up the Great Lakes under a Canada-US Agreement. This year, the IJC held a series of online and in-person meetings for citizens throughout the Great Lakes basin to provide their perspectives about progress by the governments of Canada and the United States under the 2012 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. Comments were sought on the IJC's draft Triennial Assessment of Progress (TAP) report and the Progress Report (PROP) of the Governments of Canada and the United States (see below) . The comments we have received have contributed to the IJC's first assessment of progress made by the governments to restore and protect the Great Lakes under the 2012 Agreement.
On November 28, 2017, the IJC released its First Triennial Assessment of Progress on Great Lakes Water Quality to the governments of Canada and the United States.
As part of the International Joint Commission’s efforts to obtain public input on the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement progress at the Great Lakes Public Forum, several public meetings were held to connect with local citizens who are committed to restoring and protecting their part of the Great Lakes. To view summary reports for the individual cities that the IJC visited, click on any of the following: Buffalo, Milwaukee, Sarnia, Sault Ste. Marie, St. Catharines, Toledo, Toronto.
Final Documents
- Public Comments Received on the TAP Report
- Final Report - First Triennial of Progress on the Great Lakes Water Quality
Progress Report of the Parties
In 2012, Canada and the United States significantly revised the GLWQA to strengthen and modernize the Agreement and included a new requirement for a Progress Report of the Parties (Report) to be issued once every three years “to document actions relating to this Agreement”. This reporting requirement strengthens the accountability provisions of the Agreement, with the Report to be provided to the public and the International Joint Commission. Consistent with that requirement, the Parties are pleased to release this first Progress Report of the Parties, documenting the actions taken since the 2012 Agreement took effect in February of 2013.
The International Joint Commission accepted public comments on the 2016 PROP report until the submission period closed on April 15, 2017. The comments were gathered for the governments of Canada and the United States and were also considered for the IJC's own assessment of progress made by the governments under the 2012 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.
Public Comments
To view videos of the public comment period during each public meeting and the videos of the presentations made during the public meetings click here. To learn more about the past public meetings click here.
Final Documents
Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement
The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement was first signed in 1972 to coordinate the actions of Canada and the United States to restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the waters of the Great Lakes. Read more ...
The International Joint Commission invited public comment on the Progress Report of the Parties until April 15, 2017. The Progress Report of the Parties describes actions taken by the governments of Canada and the United States under the 2012 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.
The full text of the 2012 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement is available here.
Great Lakes Public Forum
Under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement the Governments of Canada and the United States are to convene, with the International Joint Commission, a Great Lakes Public Forum on a triennial basis.
This year the Great Lakes Public Forum was live from Toronto on October 4 and 5, 2016 and the International Joint Commission hosted an online public forum during the event.
You can view videos of the International Joint Commission's meetings in Toronto and Milwaukee during the 2016 Great Lakes Public Forum. You can also view videos of the entire 2016 Great Lakes Public Forum.