Talks to revise the Columbia River Treaty to begin Tuesday in U.S.
SPOKANE, Wash. — Talks are scheduled to begin this week in Washington, D.C., to modernize the document that co-ordinates flood control and hydropower generation in the United States and Canada along the 1,930-kilometre Columbia River.
Northwest politicians in the United States have been pushing for years to renegotiate the Columbia River Treaty between the two countries. The lawmakers are particularly keen to eliminate a so-called “Canadian Entitlement” they contend is too favourable to Canada.
The State Department announced last week that talks to revise the 1964 treaty would be held on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“The Columbia River Treaty is integral to so much of the Pacific Northwest way of life — from our economy, to our environment, to our culture and heritage — so it’s hard to overstate the importance of updating this treaty to meet modern-day issues,” Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington said last week.