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Home   Our Shared Environment
Canadians and Americans breathe the same air, drink the same water, and share the same responsibility of ensuring that future generations have a safe, clean, and healthy continent on which to live. Stewardship of our shared environment is a key element of the Canada-U.S. relationship as both our countries work bilaterally to address and resolve the environmental challenges. Many agreements have been signed between Canada and the United States in order to formalize and improve the way our countries work together to protect our water, air and wildlife. Given the importance of the environment to both Canadians and Americans, the following offers an overview of the major environmental issues confronting Canada and the U.S., as well as providing other sources of information. JOINT STEWARDSHIP PROTECTING OUR WILDLIFE WATER QUALITY / QUANTITY Canada and the United States share a long history of effective cooperation on water-related environmental issues that stretches back almost a century. To begin with, the Boundary Waters Treaty (1909) set the pattern of Canada-U.S. environmental relations by establishing the principle of joint stewardship of the rivers and lakes that lie along or flow across the Canada-U.S. border. The International Joint Commission (IJC) , a body created by the Treaty, to this day continues to oversee water quantity and quality in boundary waters, as well as to assist in dispute resolution. The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (1972) marked a commitment from both countries to maintain the ecological integrity of the Great Lakes. As a result of this agreement, the Great Lakes are cleaner now than they have been for 50 years. However, Canada and the U.S. face important challenges to water quality and quantity. For example, the Binational Toxics Strategy of 1997 seeks to virtually eliminate the release of certain toxic substances into the Great Lakes. As well, the March 2000 IJC Report, Protection of the Waters of the Great Lakes, if implemented, would make it virtually impossible for long-distance, large-volume water removals. Similarly, Canada has introduced legislation to prohibit the bulk removal of waters shared with the United States, including the Great Lakes. CANADA & THE IJC The IJC is assisted by expert staff located in three offices (Ottawa, Washington and Windsor). There are 20 advisory boards and boards of control, with membership drawn equally and primarily from Canadian and U.S. government officials, who serve in their personal and professional capacities and not as representatives of their home organization or country. These boards cover boundary waters and transboundary rivers along the whole length of the border. Canada has been well-served by the IJC. Although governments and affected interests do not always agree with the IJC, its integrity, independence and objectivity are rarely questioned and there is general agreement that the interests of citizens on both sides of the border have been protected. BULK WATER REMOVAL GARRISON DIVERSION / DEVILS LAKE AIR QUALITY Air pollution affects the health of all Canadians, especially children, the elderly and those with respiratory and cardiac conditions. Federal studies show that several thousand of premature deaths per year can be attributed to air pollution, and the Ontario Medical Association says air pollution costs Ontario citizens more than $1 billion a year in hospital admissions, emergency room visits and absenteeism. Toronto Public Health Department figures show that air pollution causes hundreds of premature deaths a year and numerous health-related problems. While there has been progress on clean air, the growth of air pollution sources has the potential to outstrip gains. CLIMATE CHANGE The international scientific community has concluded that there is compelling evidence that human activity, particularly activities associated with energy use and deforestation, is accelerating the concentration of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. There is general agreement that the global community faces the likelihood of increases in the earth's average surface temperature ranging from 1.4 to 5.8 degrees Celsius by 2100, with serious implications for global food and freshwater supplies, as well as many other implications. The Climate Change Plan sets out a three-step approach for achieving Canada's climate change objective of reducing annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 240 megatonnes (MT). First, there are the investments to date that will address one third of the total reduction (80 MT). Second, it articulates a strategy for a further 100 MT reduction. And finally, it outlines a number of current and potential actions that should enable Canada to address the remaining 60 MT reduction. FISHERIES Surrounded by the Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and home to the Great Lakes, Canada is one of the foremost maritime nations on the planet. Canada boasts the world's: - longest coastline (243,792 km) - stretched out as a continuous line, it would circle the equator more than 6 times (25% of world's coastline);
- largest offshore economic zone (200 nautical miles) - 3.7 million square kilometres, equivalent to 37% of Canada's total landmass;
- largest freshwater system - Canada's 2 million lakes and rivers cover 7.6% of our landmass or 755,000 square km;
- longest inland waterway (3,700 km) - from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Lake Superior;
- largest archipelago - Canada's Arctic islands, including 6 of the world's 30 largest islands, cover 1.4 million square km; and
- world's greatest tidal range - 16 metres in the Bay of Fundy.
PROTECTING OUR WILDLIFE ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE IN ALASKA (ANWR) The Arctic Refuge boasts one of the largest remaining complete ecosystems on the planet and is highly sensitive to any development. It houses an array of arctic and sub-arctic habitats and hosts a wide variety of plants and animals. It is home to numerous bird species, Dall sheep,muskoxen, wolves, polar bear and grizzly bear. The biological heart of the Arctic Refuge is anarrow 1.5 million acre coastal plain, the so-called "1002 lands", extending from the foothills of the Brooks Range some 15 - 20 miles to the edge of the Arctic Ocean. SPECIES AT RISK ACT (SARA) The goal of the SARA is to prevent species in Canada from becoming extinct as a consequence of human activity. The loss of species affects us all and can have unforeseen consequences for our ecosystems. In Canada, as elsewhere in the world, species are becoming endangered at an alarming rate. There are currently 340 species classified as being at risk in Canada. In a country as vast and diverse as Canada, no one government can protect all species and their habitats by acting alone. Protecting species is a shared responsibility between governments and with all Canadians. Since 1996 federal, provincial and territorial jurisdictions have been actively implementing the Accord for the Protection of Species at Risk. MIGRATORY BIRDS The conservation of migratory birds is the joint responsibility of the countries they visit during the breeding, migration, and non-breeding seasons. The recognition of this has led to the development of international treaties to protect these birds, such as the Canada-U.S. Migratory Birds Convention (1916), and to the formation of such mechanisms as the Canadian Wildlife Service's Latin American Program, establishing linkages among countries who share migratory populations. It has also led to multi-partner programs to promote the conservation of migratory birds and their habitats, such as the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network, North American Bird Conservation Initiative, Partnersin Flight--U.S.A (the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Program) and Partners in Flight--Canada (Canadian Landbird Conservation Program). SEALS The Northwest Atlantic harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandica) is the most abundant of all seal species in Atlantic Canada and accounts for most of the harvest. Although harp seals have been hunted commercially since the 16th Century, the present day Atlantic coast commercial seal hunt took shape in the late 1980s after the collapse of the large-vessel hunt for whitecoat seals. Six species of seals – the harp, hooded, grey, ringed, bearded and harbour – are found off the Atlantic coast of Canada, although ringed and bearded seals are typically Arctic species. Of the six species, harp and hooded seals account for almost all the seals hunted commercially. A number of grey seals are also taken for commercial uses under licences issued for that purpose. | 
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