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2001 October Report of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development
Chapter 1—A Legacy Worth Protecting: Charting a Sustainable Course in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River Basin
Using this chapter
Commissioner's Foreword and Main Points
Summary—A Legacy Worth Protecting
Section 1—Introduction to the Basin and Our Audit
Section 2—The State of the Basin
Our Audits
Section 3—Water
Section 4—Agriculture
Section 5—Species and Spaces at Risk
Section 6—Fisheries
Section 7—Ecosystem Initiatives
Section 8—The International Joint Commission: A Key Binational Organization
Section 9—Overall Conclusions
Appendix A—Previous Work of the Office of the Auditor General and the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development
Appendix B—Organizational Landscape (PDF format)
Using this chapter
This chapter addresses three questions.
What is the state of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River basin? We present three different perspectives: historical, science-based, and international. (State of the Basin)
What role does the federal government play in protecting and preserving this key ecosystem, and how is it performing in that role? We examined issues affecting water, agriculture, fisheries, species and spaces at risk, the ecosystem initiatives, and the International Joint Commission. We begin our detailed audit reports on each subject with an overview of the issues, the federal role and mandate, what we audited, what we found, and what we recommend. (Our Audits)
How can the federal government do better and advance the sustainable development of the basin for generations to come? We summarize our key observations and conclusions and discuss their implications. (Overall Conclusions)
In addition to this detailed report, a separate Summary Report is available.