The importance of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.

The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA) may not be known by most people on either side of the US–Canadian border, but it is important. The International Joint Commission (IJC), the US– Canadian body that advises both governments on issues around the boundary waters is also an important organization, but not well known. The article by Gilbertson and Watterson raises questions about the politicalization of the IJC and the effect it has on the interpretation of the GLWQA. The debate currently ongoing within the IJC around the GLWQA deserves thoughtful attention on both sides of the border. Gilbertson and Watterson frame the central question around whether water quality is of primary importance, or alternatively whether the agreement should focus on ‘‘ecosystem integrity’’, defined as a much broader approach to Great Lakes issues. Of particular concern is the question of whether ‘‘ecosystem integrity’’ has become a buzzword for an approach that detracts from the focus on water quality, particularly the concern about the presence of persistent toxic substances in the waters of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River basin. The concern about persistent toxic substances is well founded. The Great Lakes remain highly contaminated (1). The fish are not safe to eat, and while levels of at least some contaminants have declined somewhat, even those appear to have plateaued at concentrations that are still dangerous. At the same, time other