Ottawa renews commitment, provides funding, for Lake Winnipeg watershed protection

The federal government has renewed its memorandum of understanding with the province to protect the Lake Winnipeg watershed and is contributing more than $2 million for several projects to protect the basin.

Ottawa and the province have agreed to extend the current MOU for an additional five-year term, to August 21, 2031. The understanding has been in place since 2010.

“Lake Winnipeg is not only an environmental treasure, it’s also an economic treasure. But we also know that Lake Winnipeg is under pressure. Too many nutrients, particularly phosphorus, are entering the lake, contributing to harmful algae blooms and affecting water quality and ecosystem health,” said Terry Duguid, MP for Winnipeg South.

Lake Winnipeg is one of the largest freshwater bodies in the world and its watershed spans parts of four provinces and four American states. It is vulnerable to high levels of nutrients caused by agricultural runoff, sewage and other contaminants that create large algae blooms and affect fisheries.

The $2 million in new funding will go toward 16 projects managed by local organizations, including several Indigenous-led projects.

Nearly a quarter of the funding we be doled out to the Manitoba Association of Watersheds, which will receive $490,000 over two years for a project to reduce excess nutrients from entering waterways by working with land owners, managers and various provincial watershed districts.

When asked how the association will work with its southern counterparts due to ongoing U.S.-Canada tensions, association executive director Lynda Nicol said collaboration is crucial.

Nicol said the relationships between the various organizations are “as strong as they’ve ever been been.”

“There’s long history and tremendous respect between organizations, both those here within Manitoba, but also across multi-jurisdictional boundaries into the U.S.,” she said.

Southern Chiefs Organization will receive $130,000 over two years for its water monitoring program. The funding will support the establishment of water sampling standard operating procedures for the SCO to share with member nations’ chiefs and councils.

Grand Chief Jerry Daniels called the funding an important opportunity to build a national approach that reflects the experiences, priorities and knowledge of First Nations communities.

The Canada Water Agency is at the helm of the funding, just under a year after the federal government trimmed $3.8 million from its multi-year budget. The fledgling agency is nearing its two-year anniversary.

Duguid, who was instrumental in establishing the water agency, said he isn’t worried about the future of the projects under its care, and he expects more funding to come its way.

“It’s doing good work, and with the national water security strategy, I see only increased responsibilities and and growth,” he said.

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca