Government of Canada announces over $398,000 for nine new projects to clean up Lake Winnipeg

October 14, 2011

GIMLI, Man. -- October 14, 2011 -- James Bezan, Member of Parliament for Selkirk-Interlake, on behalf of the Honorable Peter Kent, Minister of the Environment, today announced $398,050 in federal funding for nine new community projects supported under the fifth round of the Lake Winnipeg Basin Stewardship Fund.

"Government of Canada has taken concrete actions to ensure clean water for all Canadians," said Minister Kent. "Our plan for Lake Winnipeg includes investing in monitoring, sound science, cleaning up problem areas and building strong partnerships across the watershed to protect this valuable freshwater resource."

"The Government of Canada's Lake Winnipeg Basin Initiative is delivering real results to help clean up and rehabilitate Lake Winnipeg," said MP Bezan. "This latest round of projects is just one of the many ways that the Government of Canada is working with communities and partners at all levels of government to protect Lake Winnipeg's entire watershed for future generations."

Initiatives supported by the Lake Winnipeg Basin Stewardship Fund are high-impact projects that reduce nutrient loads and improve the overall ecological sustainability of the lake and its watershed. In previous rounds of the Lake Winnipeg Basin Stewardship Fund, the Government of Canada announced over $2.0 million to support 37 other community and stakeholder projects. The projects are reducing phosphorus and other harmful substances from entering the lake, restoring urban and rural streams and riverbanks, and educating the public on how to help clean up Lake Winnipeg.

Through the Lake Winnipeg Basin Initiative, Environment Canada has implemented a comprehensive research, monitoring and information program throughout the Lake Winnipeg watershed to provide residents with the information needed to help clean up the lake.

This investment to clean up Lake Winnipeg is part of the Government of Canada's Action Plan for Clean Water. Other projects funded by the Action Plan include the clean-up of contaminated sediment in Great Lakes Areas of Concern and the clean up of Lake Simcoe.