(Quinte West, Ontario) – On behalf of the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of the Environment, Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency and Minister for the Arctic Council, Dr. Colin Carrie was joined by MP Rick Norlock in Quinte West, Ontario, today to celebrate 31 environmental clean-up projects in the Great Lakes.
“The funding of habitat restoration and monitoring programs by the Great Lakes Sustainability Fund will ensure that the Bay of Quinte remains a healthy and vibrant ecosystem,” says Glenda Rodgers, Chief Administrative Officer, Lower Trent Conservation and Co-Chair of the Bay of Quinte Remedial Action Plan Restoration Council. “The Bay provides this region with numerous amenities, including everything from quality drinking water to a world class fishery. This funding will help the Bay remain a sustainable and valuable resource for future generations.”
The projects, valued at $1.88 million, are funded by the Government of Canada’s Great Lakes Sustainability Fund.
Since 1989, the Great Lakes Sustainability Fund has supported more than 900 partnered projects to help clean up Canadian Great Lakes Areas of Concern. This past year alone, the supported projects leveraged $3.76 million in funding from industry, academia and other government agencies. Working together to complete these projects is an important step towards protecting this vast natural resource for generations to come.
Quick Facts
- Great Lakes Areas of Concern are areas where the environment and water quality are severely degraded. Restoring
them is a priority because they impact the health of the ecosystem locally and across the basin.
- Projects supported by the Great Lakes Sustainability Fund typically focus on restoring fish and wildlife habitat and
populations, cleaning up contaminated sediment, and controlling pollution from municipal wastewater, urban storm
water and rural run-off.