LAKE ONTARIO – The International Joint Commission (IJC) announced it has given authority to the International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board (ILOSLRB) to deviate from Plan 2014 this spring.

The IJC made the announcement last Friday (Nov. 22), one day before a planned protest outside their Ottawa headquarters, that it has given authority to the ILOSLRB which controls water levels for the Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River system.

The board will be able to control the outflows of Lake Ontario over the next few months by opening the Moses-Saunders Dam in Cornwall to reduce the risk of high water in 2020.

In a statement IJC public affairs advisor Sarah Lobrichon said it has given its board “the authority to deviate from Plan 2014 flows during the current crisis until Lake Ontario peaks next year.”

“This provides as much authority as under the old plan so the board can use every opportunity to release water without causing downstream flooding or severely harming other interests,” the IJC said.

This announcement comes days after the Eastern Ontario Mayor’s Caucus where hundreds pushed the IJC to repeal Plan 2014, citing it as the reason for record-setting flooding.

Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke MP Cheryl Gallant, as well as several Renfrew County politicians attended the rally organized by United Shoreline Ontario’s Sarah Delicate.

In its own statement, the ILOSLRB says while an outflow strategy can influence water levels, the main driver is the weather.