On May 6, 1954 the Premier of New Brunswick wrote to the Secretary of State for External Affairs asking for advice and assistance in the preparation and submission of a Reference to the International Joint Commission on the water resources of the St. Croix River basin. In reply the Premier was informed that the Department of External Affairs, in conjunction with other interested Departments, would undertake a study of the proposed Reference and that federal officials would be glad to consult with New Brunswick officials in drafting a Reference for consideration of the Canadian Government.

2. The Premier of New Brunswick was also informed that it is customary to discuss proposed References to the International Joint Commission with the United States Government, after their general terms have been agreed upon by the various Canadian interests involved, with a view to having the two Governments submit References jointly to the Commission. With this object in mind, officials of the Departments concerned and of the Canadian Section of the International Joint Commission met with representatives of the Province of New Brunswick in Ottawa on September 17, 1954 and agreed on the general terms of the text of a draft Reference on the St. Croix River basin.

3. Informal discussions were then initiated with officials of the State Department and after considerable delay the various interested agencies in the United States have now accepted the draft Reference proposed by Canada. If this draft Reference meets with the approval of the Canadian Government, the Department of External Affairs will request the Government of the United States to join in the proposed Reference to the International Joint Commission.

Recommendation

4. The Secretary of State for External Affairs, with the concurrence of the Ministers of Finance, Public Works, Fisheries, Trade and Commerce, and Northern Affairs and National Resources, recommends that a joint Reference to the International Joint Commission along the lines of the draft attached as Appendix A be approved.¹⁸⁶

L.B. Pearson

In order to determine whether greater use than is now being made of the waters of the St. Croix River Basin would be feasible and advantageous, the Governments of the United States of America and Canada have agreed to refer the matter to the International Joint Commission for investigation and report pursuant to Article IX of the Treaty concerning Boundary Waters between the United States and Canada, signed January 11, 1909.

2. Having regard to the legal, engineering and economic aspects of the matter, it is desired that the Commission shall, after making the necessary preliminary investigations, indicate whether, in its judgment, further development of the water resources of the St. Croix River Basin would be practicable and in the public interest from the point of view of the two Governments and which projects would seem to warrant further detailed study.

3. In making its report the Commission should indicate:

(a) what projects or regimens should be further considered to improve the use, conservation and regulation of the waters of the Basin, taking into account the previous actions of the Commission as well as the present and future interests of both countries in the Basin;

(b) how the interests on either side of the Boundary would be benefited or adversely affected by any of the projects or regimens so indicated;

(c) the order of magnitude of costs of the indicated projects or regimens, including indemnification for damage to public and private property;

(d) how the costs mentioned in (c) should be apportioned.

4. In the conduct of its investigations and otherwise in the performance of its duties under this Reference, the Commission may utilize the services of engineers and other specially qualified personnel of the technical agencies of Canada and the United States and will, so far as possible, make use of information and technical data heretofore acquired or which may become available during the course of the investigation.