CANADA’S CLAIM.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume L, Issue 16423, 6 May 1924, Page 5

CANADA’S CLAIM.

OBJECTION TO DIVERSION OF WATER.

THE GREAT LAKIJS.

(Elec. Tel. Copyright—United Press Assn.) (Australian and N.Z. Cable Association.)

WASHINGTON. May 4. An important incident affecting the United States and Canada has just been disclosed by the State Department’s publication of correspondence with the British Embassy on the question of the waters of the Great Lakes, Canada declaring these waters the common heritage of the peoples of both countries. Canada protests most earnestly against the proposal to divert the water from the Great, Lakes watershed' to the Mississippi watershed. American engineers have suggested such diversion in the interests of the middle and western cities of the United'States, which desire to build up a trade to vie with that in the Gulf of Mexico. Canada, moreover, protests against Chicago’s present diversion of much of the water of Lake Michigan for sanitary purposes. The Dominion alleges that this has already lowered' the waters of the Great Lakes, affecting Canadian harbors whereupon millions have been spent, and further drainage would inflict a great detriment on navigation from Sault Ste Marie to the tidewater, especially injuring Montreal’s status as the Dominion’s great port. ST. LAWRENCE SCHEME. U.S. FORCING THE' PACE. ( MONTREAL, March 26. Great interest is being taken in Canada in the negotiations of the Canadian Government with the Washington Government regarding the ambitious project to deepen and dam the St. Lawrence waterways, including the purely Canadian reaches and the small section of the river whidi is international. This £50,000,000 project is expected to develop an enormous amount of hydro-electric energy and enable ocean vessels to ascend t 6 the Great- Lakes. The American Government, urged, by power-consumers in the Eastern States, is showing great anxiety to secure Canadian endorsement of the international project-, even to breaking its agreement with the Canadian Government and releasing the international correspondence at Washington before it is published at- Ottawa. The Canadian, Government has, so far, declined any joint commission, possibly realising that in most of the previous joint commissions the Americans secured 1 the joint while the Canadians got the commission. The general feeling in Canada since the meteoric increase in the American exploitation of Canadian forests, and hydro-electric energy for export to the United 1 States, is that Canadians should no longer submit to be forced into the position of hewers of pulpwood! and drawers of water-power in the service of American industries in competition with Canadian industry, since Canada so far owns and controls both these natural resources. Coupled with this comes the question of provincial rights. Ontario, which expects great benefits.,from ocean vessels ascending the St. Lawrence to the Great Lakes, is anxious to see the deep waterway project completed, while the Province of Montreal is strongly opposed to the whole scheme until absolutely assured that it will not affect the water-levels at Montreal- and! on the lower St. Lawrence, which since the American grab at tbe waters of the Great Lakes by the Chicago Drainage Ctirtal are already seriously menaced. The “Hands off Quebec” sign has already been hung, out by the Quebec Premier, and! Mr Lapoint has warned the Dominion Parliament that Quebec Province will not tolerate any infringement of her provincial rights in a matter which vitally affects the future prosperity of the whole population of Quebec! '