Category:Canada-Ontario Agreement Respecting the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem

The Canada–Ontario Agreement Respecting the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem (COA), signed on March 22, 2002, is a framework for implementing Canada’s commitments under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA). It commits the federal and provincial governments to work together “to understand, restore and protect the environmental quality of the Great Lakes Basin ecosystem.”

Led by Environment Canada (EC) and Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment, COA defines roles and responsibilities for cleaning up the Great Lakes Basin. It applies to the five Great Lakes, the waters that drain into them, and the St. Lawrence River from Lake Ontario to the Ontario-Quebec border. The provincial signatories are Ontario’s Ministries of the Environment, Natural Resources, and Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.