OTTOWA – Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-06), co-chair of the Congressional Great Lakes Task Force in the U.S. House of Representatives, today testified before the Canadian House of Commons about the importance of resuming normal operations for the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. Since its adoption in 1954, the Great Lakes Fishery Commission has been instrumental in addressing shared, binational issues, including cross-border fishery management coordination, directing a binational science program that provides crucial information for management and restoration, and controlling the invasive, destructive sea lamprey in the Great Lakes.
Earlier this week, Dingell and the Great Lakes Task Force sent a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urging Canada to address the breakdown within the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, and find a long-term solution to resume normal operations, while also respecting Canada’s sovereignty.
Key Excerpts
“The Great Lakes unite our region. They are both a binational and bipartisan priority for all of us. Since its establishment, the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has been tasked with managing and protecting this vital fishery and has proved to be a remarkable success. Thanks to the binational cooperation, our shared fishery is thriving, now accounting for more than $8 billion in economic activity each year.”
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“With all that said, I am deeply concerned about where things are today with the Commission. The Great Lakes Fishery Commission has not met in more than a year and has not been able to set a regular program since 2021. Part of the problem was a considerable funding gap that I am pleased to note the Government of Canada fulfilled in its 2022 budget. However, my fellow Great Lakes Task Force members and I were distressed to hear that the budget did not remedy the problem. Rather, it is our understanding that structural issues in Canada—which are the subject of today’s hearing—have crippled the Commission’s ability to do its job.”
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"Since 2018, the Commission, members of the public, and scores of members of Parliament have supported a proposal to move the Commission’s file from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to Global Affairs Canada. This week I also led a letter with many of my bipartisan colleagues on the Congressional Great Lakes Task Force to Prime Minister Trudeau to express our serious concerns and to add our support to this proposal. This would mirror the governance structure in the United States. Let me be clear, I respect Canada’s sovereignty, and I can only speak for myself and not on behalf of the U.S. government, but we need a long-term solution. We need to get the commissioners meeting again.”
View a copy of Dingell's written testimony here.
