Canada and the United States released the third Progress Report of the Parties, pursuant to the 2012 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA). This Report documents the significant accomplishments achieved through the cooperation of many partners on both sides of the border in implementing the 2012 GLWQA over 2020 to 2022.

Canada and the United States produce and release a binational Progress Report of the Parties every 3 years to document recent binational and domestic actions taken to fulfill the commitments in the Agreement. This report provides an update on key activities called the “2020–2022 Binational Priorities for Science and Action” that were established by Canada and the United States at the beginning of this 3-year period. It also reports on other governmental actions that deliver on Agreement commitments. The development of this report was led by the governments of Canada and the United States in consultation and cooperation with the broader Great Lakes Executive Committee (GLEC). The Report documents the significant accomplishments achieved through the cooperation of many partners on both sides of the border.

According to the Report, ‘over the past 3 years, unprecedented progress has been made to remediate and restore water quality and ecosystem health in Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOC). Two AOCs have been formally delisted. Four AOCs have had all management actions completed, setting them on a path to environmental recovery and eventual delisting. Twenty-four ecosystem impairments (known as Beneficial Use Impairments, or BUIs) have been removed in 19 AOCs. In addition, over 1,280,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment was remediated throughout the Great Lakes’.

The table 2 below shows the progress on restoring beneficial uses by removing BUIs in four Areas of Concern in Canada: Thunder Bay, Nipigon Bay, Jackfish Bay and Peninsula Harbour. This progress represents years of focused domestic action and resources by all levels of government and local partners. 

The complete Report is now available here: 2022 Progress Report of the Parties

Are you interested in making your input or sharing feedback on this Report? Please, consider participating in The Great Lakes Public Forum which is scheduled to take place in Niagara Falls, Ontario, from September 27–29, 2022. Registration is free and now open here, online participation is also available. Please note that this is a hybrid event with limited capacity for in-person attendance. Registration for the in-person event closes Monday, September 5, 2022.

The International Joint Commission (IJC) was given the specific responsibility under the Agreement to discuss and receive public input on these Progress Reports of the Parties. The Commission will consider this public input while developing their Triennial Assessment of Progress report that provides recommendations to the United States and Canada with respect to the implementation of the Agreement.