The United States Embassy has proposed that the Pelee Island Passage at the western end of Lake Erie be dredged to Seaway depth. The purpose is to improve the navigation route from the Welland Canal to Windsor and Detroit, and this would be an advantage to all shipping through Lake Erie. The proposed project is an essential part of the dredging required in the interconnecting channels to make these conform with Seaway standards as far as width and depth are concerned. The United States has offered to pay the full cost of the project.

2. Since the United States Government previously assumed responsibility for the cost of improving the channels in the Upper Great Lakes, the present proposal is in accordance with past practice.

3. The Pelee Island Passage project is similar to the Southeast Bend project in that both are physically located in Canada. Following interdepartmental discussion a draft note, based on the principles evolved in the Southeast Bend project, has been prepared in reply to that received from the United States Embassy. A copy of this draft is attached.?

4. A provision for the employment, in approximately equal numbers, of Canadian and United States labour was included in the agreement covering the Southeast Bend project, an operation involving about 100 men. The Pelee Passage project involves only some 24 men most of whom will be permanent personnel for dredges. In view therefore of the small numbers of men involved it may not in fact be possible to divide the labour equally. It will be noted however that paragraph (h) in the draft reply provides for approximately equal employment for United States and Canadian labour. The National Employment Service will have to determine in conjunction with the United States Army Corps of Engineers what can in fact be done.

5. The dredging operations to be undertaken in conjunction with the Pelee Island Passage are of an unusual character in that it will not be known until underwater blasting has been done whether there will be any necessity for future maintenance work. In consequence no provision has been made in the draft reply regarding maintenance of the completed channel as this can be best determined at a later date.

6. The question of the location of dumping grounds has been the subject of informal discussions between the Department of Public Works and the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Agreement on this question has now been reached and a map indicating the location of the dumping grounds will be attached to our reply to the United States note.

7. The remaining clauses of our draft reply are identical in effect to the corresponding ones in the Southeast Bend agreement.⁶⁰⁶

Recommendation

H.C. GREEN

⁶⁰⁶Voir le volume 25, les documents 230 à 233./See Volume 25, Documents 230-233.

⁶⁰⁷Approuvé par le Cabinet le 30 décembre 1959./Approved by Cabinet on December 30, 1959.