The Boundary Waters Treaty is the 1909 treaty

Treaty

A treaty is an express agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely sovereign states and international organizations. A treaty may also be known as an agreement, protocol, covenant, convention or exchange of letters, among other terms...

 between the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 providing mechanisms for resolving any dispute over any waters bordering the two countries. The treaty covers the
Inter alia

Inter Alia

-Track listing:# Inter Alia# Outfox'd # Righteous Badass # The Altogether feat. Bix, Apt, UNIVERSE ARM and Cal# The Day-to-Daily# Trouble Brewing # The Prestidigitator# The Force...

, the treaty guarantees that any navigable waters be "free and open."

Canada subsequently enacted the International Boundary Waters Treaty Act to implement the treaty.

History

Momentum for a boundary waters treaty built up against a background of difficulties encountered in apportioning the waters of the St. Mary and Milk Rivers in the west, the Rainy River, the Chicago Diversion of Lake Michigan, (which at the time lowered lake levels by 6 inches) the St. Mary's River at Sault Ste. Marie and the Niagara River. Thus at the International Irrigation Congresses in Denver, Colorado in 1894 and in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1895, resolutions were introduced by the Canadian delegate and adopted unanimously by the United States, Mexican and Canadian delegations. The resolution recommended to the United States "the appointment of an international commission to act in conjunction with the authorities of Mexico and Canada in adjudicating the conflicting rights which have arisen, or may hereafter arise, on streams of an international character." In 1896, the Canadian Government requested that the British Ambassador at Washington inform the United States Government that it was prepared to cooperate "by appointment of an international commission or otherwise" in the regulation of international streams for irrigation purposes.

See also

• Boundary Waters
  Boundary Waters
  The Boundary Waters — also called the Quetico-Superior country — is a region of wilderness straddling the Canada–United States border between Ontario and Minnesota, in the region just west of Lake Superior. This region is part of the Superior National Forest in northeastern Minnesota, and in Canada...
  
  
• International Joint Commission
  International Joint Commission
  The International Joint Commission is an independent binational organization established by the United States and Canada under the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909.The Commission has responsibilities related to the following treaties and agreements:...
  
  
• The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement
  The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement
  The Great Lakes–Saint Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement is a good-faith agreement among the Governors of the U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, and the Premiers of the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec...
  
  

External links

• International Joint Commission and Its History and Boundary Waters Treaty's Text
• 100th Anniversary 1909-2009 of 13 June 2009