2. Background

2.1. Program profile

Lake Winnipeg is the world’s 10th largest freshwater lake. It is fed by a vast basin covering 960 thousand square kilometers extending over four provinces and four states. Water quality has deteriorated in the lake, due to excessive amounts of nutrients from multiple sources.

The Lake Winnipeg Basin Initiative (LWBI) aims to contribute to restoring the ecological health of Lake Winnipeg, reduce pollution from sources such as agriculture, industry and wastewater, and improve water quality for fisheries and recreation. Phase I of the program (2008-2012) consisted of $18 million in funding over a five year period. Phase II (2012-2017) was launched in August 2012 with another $18 million in funding through the Action Plan for Clean Water. Phase II builds on the scientific accomplishments of Phase I and moves towards taking more actions to address water quality issues.

2.2. Activities

The program’s activities are organized within three key pillars, as described below:

I. Science

The LWBI science component is led by ECCC’s Science and Technology Branch (STB) and is focused on understanding how nutrient contributions can be controlled in the watershed and how nutrients affect the ecology of the lake. This knowledge is used to encourage and inform best management practices in the agricultural industry and improve municipal waste and storm water management practices in the watershed. The science component also includes actions aimed at improving the monitoring of the health of the lake.

In Phase II, scientific research shifted from lake-based to land-based activities that assess the effects of human activity in the watershed and monitor any changes. A Science Plan for Phase II of the LWBI was developed by the Water Science and Technology Directorate (WSTD) in STB. The Science Plan provides an overview of monitoring and research activities for Phase II of the LWBI which aimed to fill priority knowledge gaps in science, identify ways to measure results, and assess the effectiveness of efforts to clean up the lake. Annual work plans are developed to guide scientific investments and activities.

II. Stewardship – Lake Winnipeg Basin Stewardship Fund (LWBSF)

The LWBSF is implemented by ECCC’s Associate Regional Director General West and North (AsRDG-W&N) through the Lake Winnipeg Basin Office (LWBO). It is used to fund cost-shared^{Footnote 1} projects that focus on reducing nutrient loads through actions taken by stakeholder and community groups. Since the start of Phase II, there have been three rounds of funding totaling approximately $4.4 million. A total of 48 projects have been approved, ranging from $4,000 to over $900,000, with an average project funding of $112,000.^{Footnote 2}

To be eligible under the LWBSF, projects must address at least one of the following priorities:

• reducing nutrient inputs from rural and urban sources;
• controlling point and non-point sources^{Footnote 3} of pollution;
• rehabilitating priority aquatic ecosystems that support nutrient reduction and sequestration; and
• enhancing research and monitoring capacity to support decision making.

Eligible funding recipients include: individuals; non-profit organizations and associations; industry and industry associations; Indigenous groups and organizations; provincial, municipal, territorial and local governments; regional conservation districts and authorities; research, academic and educational institutions; and watershed-based organizations.

Overall management of the proposal solicitation and review process is handled by the LWBO. Project proposals are solicited annually in late summer/early fall. Qualifying proposals then undergo a four-stage approval process: Letter of Intent Review; Technical Review of Project Proposals; Public Review by a Public Advisory Committee; and Final Approval of recommended projects.

During the five-year timeframe of LWBI Phase II, the LWBSF has also provided ongoing financial support for two additional projects, namely, support for: the operation of the Lake Winnipeg Research Consortium’s (LWRC) MV Namao research vessel, which is used to conduct research and monitoring on the lake, and the University of Manitoba’s Lake Winnipeg Basin Information Network, a single-window web-based information network aimed at promoting and enabling data sharing and analysis with partners to support research on the lake.

III. Transboundary partnerships

The third pillar of the LWBI, which is also managed in the West and North Region, includes collaborative work with other governments (provincial, state, federal)^{Footnote 4} and organizations within the Lake Winnipeg transboundary watershed. This includes working with the Province of Manitoba to continue implementation of the 2010 Canada–Manitoba Memorandum of Understanding Respecting Lake Winnipeg and the Lake Winnipeg Basin (CA–MB MOU). The CA–MB MOU provides a forum for communication to support a long-term collaborative and coordinated approach between the two governments in the areas of science and governance to support the sustainability and health of the Lake Winnipeg Basin. Transboundary partnership activities also emphasize collaborative work with other governments and jurisdictions to address sources of nutrients outside Manitoba. Domestic and international water management boards^{Footnote 5}, which provide integrated decision-making for the management of inter-jurisdictional waters, play a critical role in managing nutrients in the Lake Winnipeg Basin and therefore are key partners in this initiative.

2.3. Governance and management

2.3.1 Governance

Overall accountability for the Lake Winnipeg Basin Initiative rests with the Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic Policy Branch (SPB). However, responsibility for delivery of the program’s three pillars is shared between the AsRDG-W&N (who reports through to the ADM SPB) and the ADM Science and Technology Branch (STB). More specifically responsibilities for the LWBSF and the transboundary partnerships pillars rests with the AsRDG-W&N, while the ADM STB is accountable for delivering the science pillar. Overall coordination of program activities is conducted by the LWBO in the West and North Region.

The overarching governance and coordination for the program is through the LWBI Executive Committee comprising participants at the Regional Director General and Director General levels and chaired by the AsRDG W&N. Participating organizations include STB’s Water Science and Technology Directorate (WSTD), International Affairs Branch (Americas Directorate), and Strategic Policy Branch RDG Ontario and RDG W&N. This committee meets once or twice per year to oversee and provide advice on the program, and facilitate information sharing and engagement among the participating organizations within the department.

At the working level, internal Transboundary Connections calls engage ECCC stakeholders three times per year via teleconference. The calls are chaired by the Lake Winnipeg Basin Office and are used to share information about ECCC actions relative to the Lake Winnipeg watershed.

2.3.2 Supporting and advisory committees

In addition to the internal LWBI Executive Committee and the Transboundary Connections calls, there are a number of committees that play a supporting or advisory role in the delivery of the program’s three pillars. Key supporting committees are described below:

LWBSF Technical Review Committees. Federal and provincial agencies are involved in Technical Review Committees which are convened to review LWBSF project applications to determine whether they meet one or more of the priorities of the program, are technically feasible, and can provide tangible results.

LWBSF Public Advisory Committee. A Public Advisory Committee made up of Ministerially-appointed Basin stakeholders also reviews project applications to ensure that local knowledge is considered when recommending projects and funding levels for approval.

Transboundary Partnerships Steering Committee. A Steering Committee was established in 2010 as part of the CA–MB MOU to oversee implementation of the agreement, including the Science Subsidiary Arrangement^{Footnote 6}. The Steering Committee is co-chaired by ECCC and Manitoba’s Department of Sustainable Development (MSD) and includes federal and provincial agencies, including Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), as well as Manitoba Agriculture and Manitoba Indigenous and Municipal Relations (MIMR). The Steering Committee meets biannually. The CA–MB MOU has been extended to September 13, 2020.

Water Management Boards. ECCC also participates on a number of water management boards to facilitate coordination of efforts across the Lake Winnipeg Basin and to help address nutrient loading originating from outside of Manitoba’s jurisdiction. ECCC chairs the Prairie Provinces Water Board (PPWB), and is the Canadian co-Chair and/or co-Secretariat of the following International Joint Commission boards^{Footnote 7} : the International Red River Board (IRRB); the International Rainy–Lake of the Woods Watershed Board; and the International Souris River Board.

2.3.3 Partners and stakeholders

There are a large number and variety of collaborators and stakeholders involved in water quality issues in the Lake Winnipeg Basin across the program’s three pillars. These include stakeholders representing other jurisdictions (municipal, provincial, state, federal), conservation districts and authorities, the scientific and research community, business and non-governmental organizations. ECCC is connected to this broader community through Manitoba’s Lake Friendly Accord which was signed by ECCC in March 2014 and which established the multi-stakeholder Lake Friendly Stewards Alliance. The aim of this organization is to align stakeholder water quality improvement efforts in the Lake Winnipeg Basin and commit to actions to reduce nutrient loading and improve water quality in the Basin.

Applicants for funding from the LWBSF are also important stakeholders in the program.

2.4. Resources

With the renewal of the program for Phase II, a total of $18 million in funding was approved for the five-year period from 2012–2013 to 2016–2017. Planned allocation of the funding was as follows:

• Science: 48%;
• Stewardship: 41%; and
• Transboundary Partnerships: 11%.

Table 1 identifies the LWBI’s actual expenditures over the four-year period under study (the first four years of Phase II) and forecasted expenditures for 2016–2017. Based on this information, total Phase II forecasted expenditures are very close to initially planned funding. The distribution of expenditures by pillar varies slightly from planned, with the Science pillar forecast to represent a higher proportion of total spending.

Table 1. ECCC Expenditures for the LWBI, 2012–2013 to 2016–2017 ($000s)^{Footnote 8}

2.5. Intended outcomes

Program performance was assessed against the intended outcomes from the LWBI logic model (presented in Annex A) which was developed by the program and approved in November 2015. Note that, for reporting purposes, two outcomes related to collaboration and partnership under the Stewardship and Transboundary Partnerships pillars have been grouped together to minimize duplication, and two outcomes related to the setting of nutrient objectives by the province and transboundary organizations have also been grouped together. An additional outcome “Increased scientific knowledge and data to inform and support decision-making” was also assessed as this is a key aspect of the program which was not captured in the program’s logic model.

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