The Hon. Rob Nicholson may be relatively new to the role of Minister of Foreign Affairs, but hailing from Niagara Falls, as a six-term Member of Parliament he certainly is familiar with the IJC’s role under the Boundary Waters Treaty managing water levels on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River, as well in water quality under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.
Canadian Commissioners Gordon Walker, Benoit Bouchard and Richard Morgan, recently met with Minister Nicholson (2nd from left) to discuss some other IJC activities in detail, coast to coast, such as the Lake of the Woods Water Quality Plan of Study, alewife in St. Croix basin, Plan 2014 for Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River, flooding in the Richelieu – Lake Champlain basin, SPARROW modeling in the Red River Basin, and the report on reducing harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie.
To recognize Minister Nicholson’s long association with both the IJC and the Niagara region, Chair Walker presented him with a large scale copy of the stamp issued by Canada Post to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Boundary Waters Treaty on June 6, 2009 when Niagara Falls provided the backdrop from the centre of the Rainbow Bridge for the binational Canada-US celebrations.
Commissioners were grateful for this unique opportunity to discuss topical Canada - U.S. water issues with the Minister, who remarked on the important historic role the IJC has played in helping establish strong binational relations and keeping the peace along the Canada-US frontier.
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