| Canada Must Act to Halt Devils Lake Project | 17 February 05 |
 According to international law expert Michael Byers, Canada must act quickly to stop a North Dakota plan that threatens to harm Canadian waterways.In a Globe and Mail article from January 31, 2005, Mr. Byers argues that the Devils Lake diversion will have an impact that extends beyond its direct effects on fish populations and water quality. If North Dakota transfers even a small amount of water into the Sheyenne River, its ability to violate the Boundary Waters Treaty without consequence would show that neither Ottawa nor Washington is firmly committed to that legal regime and individual states and provinces would become more willing to challenge federal control over transboundary waters. Mr. Byers, the Canada Research Chair in global politics and international law at the University of British Columbia, and academic director of the Liu Institute for Global Issues, calls for Canada to make a considerable effort to ensure that Washington does everything it can to prevent the diversion of water from Devils Lake this spring. He advocates for seeking a federal court injunction until the matter is jointly referred to the International Joint Commission for resolution. View the January 31, 2005 Globe and Mail article on the Waterhole web site View previous Manitoba Wildlands news items regarding Devils Lake: August 31, 2004; May 3, 2004; April 5, 2004; November 3, 2003 |
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