A Submission from the Office of Canada’s Environment Minister Peter Kent
NIAGARA FALLS, Ont. – March 22, 2013 – Today, the Honourable Peter Kent, Canada’s Environment Minister, announced a major investment under the Great Lakes Sustainability Fund to support 57 clean-up projects in officially designated Great Lakes Areas of Concern.
Canada’s Environment Minister Peter Kent
“Today, as we mark United Nations World Water Day and this year’s theme of water cooperation, we reflect on the importance of our water resources globally, and how to protect them,” said Minister Kent. “Our Government is working with many partners to protect the Great Lakes for generations to come. This investment will help us continue to work towards our goal of restoring water quality in all Canadian Great Lakes Areas of Concern.”
“Government of Canada programs are tackling the complex issues facing the Great Lakes ecosystem. Since 2006, $538 million has been invested in wastewater infrastructure in the watershed, including $379 million for wastewater treatment projects. We have also announced $16 million to address the re‑occurrence of toxic and nuisance algae, and $17 million has been invested in a program to protect Canada’s Great Lakes against the threat of Asian carp,” said the Hon. Rob Nicholson, Canada’s Minister of Justice and Member of Parliament for Niagara Falls.
Since 1989, the Great Lakes Sustainability Fund has supported more than 900 partnered projects to help clean up areas where the environment and water quality are severely degraded. Funded projects 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.
One of the environmental hotspots that will benefit from this $3,370,500 investment is the Niagara River Area of Concern where more than $350,000 to support four local projects was provided. This includes $245,000 for a Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority water quality and habitat improvement program. This project’s activities focus on installing fencing to keep livestock out of creeks, restoring wetland and woodland habitats, and working with partners to coordinate extensive water quality monitoring to help identify nutrient sources, amounts and management strategies.
“With its unique resources, nestled between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, and transversed by the Niagara Escarpment, the Niagara Peninsula has truly unique climatic and biotic zones that are unlike anywhere else in North America,” stated Bruce Timms, Chairman of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority Board. “We are proud of our partnership with the Government of Canada, which has allowed us make significant strides in improving water quality in the Niagara River Area of Concern.”
For more information on the Government of Canada’s efforts to protect our Great Lakes, including the Great Lakes Sustainability Fund administered by Environment Canada, please visit www.ec.gc.ca/greatlakes .
Related documents: Great Lakes Sustainability Fund [Backgrounder 2013-03-22]
Contributions under the Great Lakes Sustainability Fund for Areas of Concern Projects 2012-2013 [Backgrounder 2013-03-22]
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Niagara At Large 
Lipstick on a pig. Anti-environment Minister Kent and his cronies are the worst thing for the environment that this country has ever seen. They’re on a greenwash campaign to get support.
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The Great Lakes are going to bite us back big time, Toronto Star, Sunday 24 March front page The come back of the toxic blue/green algae is expected to come hit Lake Erie again this year, it has already killed 176 Manatee last month in the State of Florida. We have had algae before back in the 1960 ‘s and early 1970’s with the banning of certain laundry additives on both sides of the lakes and no more phosphates the problem has rectified itself.This new algae is very similar to the red tide an algae growing in salty water that kills everything it encounter’s that stuff sounded like a biblical plague as it is like tomato soup in consistency and color.The blue/green killed 36 Ohio residents and numerous fish and birds, the stuff carries botulism and E-Coli , Fort Erie had tons of the stuff on it’s beaches alone, 15 truck loads were removed from Waverly Beach alone.Nobody of the volunteers were wearing any Haz-Mat suits. or gloves..(GLU) for additional material. This stuff was in the Niagara Falls sewage lagoon.as well.
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Nothing in their clean water program is money allocated for the Niagara River, we have two sewage lagoon dumping semi raw sewage into the upper Niagara River , one lagoon was designed for 1500 hundred people now serves 3.000 people and was supposed to be closed down ten tears ago,it is located at the QEW and Netherby Roads the sewage in stays 15 days and then goes into the river via an outlet pipe, the other lagoon is situated at Niagara Christian College., down stream the City of Niagara Falls takes river water into the Chippawa Water plant.there are no fish within 30 feet of the river bank. as fishermen have told me many times. Finally after 40 years they are closing down the sewage lagoon serving NOTL. that sewage puts out E-Coli along the shores of Lake Ontario, that’s why it is posted every year “No Swimming”
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Great timing. They’re now closing the world famous Environmental Lakes Area in Kenora. That’s where they discovered that phosphate was a problem …
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The best thing the Federal Gov. could do is review the Ontario Drainage act and up date it . Or work with Ontario to create a new act –something like the Wetlands Creation and Improvement Act !
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