KENORA, Ont. – August 26, 2013 – The Honourable Greg Rickford, Minister of State for Science and Technology, on behalf of Canada’s Environment Minister, the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, today announced $24,636 in support to the Lake of the Wood Development Commission from the Lake Winnipeg Basin Stewardship Fund. This will be used for a new environmental water quality education project in Kenora, Ontario.
“Educating the public about how we can all make a difference to improve water quality in our communities plays an important role in our efforts to clean up Lake Winnipeg,” said Minister Rickford. “Local community efforts really do make a difference for the watershed as a whole.
“This funding is part of the $18 million, five-year Lake Winnipeg Basin Initiative, which promotes the lake’s long-term sustainability and reduces nutrient levels that lead to harmful algae blooms,” said Minister Aglukkaq. “Using Environment Canada’s scientific and water quality monitoring expertise, in collaboration with the Province of Manitoba and our federal partners, we are implementing a world-class scientific monitoring program for Lake Winnipeg.”
Environment Canada’s Lake Winnipeg Basin Stewardship Fund supports community stewardship actions that improve water quality in Lake Winnipeg and measurably reduce nutrient loading that creates algal blooms.
The Lake Winnipeg Basin Stewardship Fund is part of Environment Canada’s Lake Winnipeg Basin Initiative (LWBI), which was renewed in 2012 to continue federal efforts to help clean up Lake Winnipeg. Over the first (2007-2012) and second phases (2012-2017) of the LWBI, the Government of Canada has invested a total of $36 million in community stewardship projects, scientific research and monitoring and transboundary management efforts to improve water quality in Lake Winnipeg.
Visit the Environment Canada website for more information on efforts for Cleaning Up Lake Winnipeg
For more information, please contact:
Jennifer Kennedy
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of the Environment
819-997-1441
Media Relations
Environment Canada
819-934-8008
Environment Canada's Twitter page: http://twitter.com/environmentca
Environment Canada's Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/environmentcan
