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
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.