Lake Winnipeg may see federal dollars flowing from Ottawa
Lake Winnipeg may be seeing some federal dollars flowing its way.
The 2023 federal budget proposes $650 million over 10 years starting in 2023/24 going towards monitoring, assessment and restoration work in several rivers and lakes including Lake Winnipeg and Lake of the Woods.
It is something the Lake Winnipeg Foundation has been waiting to hear for years. In 2021, the Federal Liberals promised $1 billion for freshwater action over 10 years.
"This year, we didn't quite get the $1 billion, but we did get a fairly significant investment over 10 years for freshwater protection across the country," Alexis Kanu, the executive director of the Lake Winnipeg Foundation, told CTV News.
As for how much Lake Winnipeg will actually see, that remains to be seen. Ottawa has already promised $420 million in funding over 10 years for the Great Lakes.
Whatever the dollar amount, Kanu said the foundation will be pushing for evidence-based investment in phosphorus reduction.
"We really want to see this funding, however much the total ends up being for Lake Winnipeg, we want to see it directed to phosphorus hotspots where it will have the biggest impact and improving water quality and Lake Winnipeg," she said.
The Lake Winnipeg Foundation is also wanting to see the funding bring Indigenous people into water governance.
"For too long Indigenous rights holders and Indigenous governments have been excluded from water decision-making," she said. "This new 10-year freshwater funding program provides an opportunity to start to correct some of those long-standing wrongs."
With Lake Winnipeg being the world's 10th largest freshwater lake by surface area, Kanu said this investment is important for the lake's future.
"We really need to protect it to make sure that the lake country continues to contribute to our well-being and to our livelihoods," she said.
The budget also proposes the creation of a Canada Water Agency to be headquartered in Winnipeg, with $85.1 million over five years starting this year. The budget says by the end of 2023, the federal government will introduce legislation it says will fully establish the agency as a standalone entity.
—With files from CTV News' Charles Lefebvre
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
Crypt near Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner could fetch US$400,000 at auction
A one-space mausoleum crypt in the vicinity of Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner will go on auction Saturday, when it is expected to reach between US$200,000 and $400,000.
This Toronto restaurant is no longer accepting tips. Here's how it's going
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff – tipping is no longer accepted.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Premiers not being truthful about carbon tax, Trudeau says while sparks fly in Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Conservative premiers across the country are 'not telling the truth' when it comes to the carbon tax. Trudeau's comments came as fresh sparks were flying in Ottawa at a recalled House of Commons committee.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.