The agreement says "that the Naval Force to be maintained upon the American Lakes." It has always been interpreted to not mean vessels being constructed, or conducting things like summer cruises.
Everybody that I met that was involved in Rush-Bagot understood it's purpose. It was a symbolic treaty that represented the working relationship on the Lakes, and indeed, the actual working relationships on the coasts. It's hard to take seriously people talking about armed patrols, and naval boarding parties, to "counter" the US when they have exchange planning staff in our Maritime Op Centers and vice versa.
Historically, US enforcement teams embark on Canadian ships, and the opposite. The strength of the relationship is working together. As long as they aren't doing anything we consider illegal or against or national values, work with them. That includes on immigration; nobody wants undocumented and unvetted immigrants going in etiher direction.
If Canada is working with the US to have an Orca replacement available on the Great Lakes to participate in that, great. If people are tossing around the idea to play to current anti-American sentiment, then they are short sighted at best. Just because the current administration is going against historical norms doesn't mean we should over-react. We should be trying to figure out where this is going and react accordingly.
