Liberals detail water protection pledge

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This article was published 02/09/2021 (1466 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Despite polls indicating support is now falling behind or statistically tied with the Conservatives, a local Liberal candidate said his party doesn’t regret calling a snap federal election.

“I think the prime minister has said very clearly: Canadians need to have their voices heard. All of us are at the doors and we’re certainly hearing the voices of the folks in our community. It’s very positive… We’re not obsessed with poll results at all. We’re obsessed with hearing from Canadians. We have no doubt that there will be a good result on (election night),” said Terry Duguid, the incumbent Liberal candidate for Winnipeg South.

A Leger poll released Tuesday found the Conservatives are leading the race with 34 per cent support among decided voters, followed by the Liberals at 30 per cent and NDP at 24 per cent.

An Ipsos survey released Wednesday found 32 per cent of decided voters would vote Conservative, 31 per cent would vote Liberal and 23 per cent would vote NDP.

Duguid noted there are still weeks left before the Sept. 20 election: “It is mid-campaign. There’s a long way to go.”

The remarks followed a Thursday news conference held to detail a water protection pledge in the Liberal campaign platform, which Duguid stressed would help improve Lake Winnipeg.

If re-elected, the Liberals promise to: invest $1 billion over 10 years in an ongoing freshwater action plan to restore and protect lakes; invest in freshwater research; update the Canada Water Act to reflect climate change and Indigenous water rights; and establish a Canada Water Agency in 2022 to help cope with extreme floods and droughts linked to climate change.

“Our 2017 fresh water (action plan) was $70 million over five years for the Great Lakes and Lake Winnipeg basins, $25.7 million for Lake Winnipeg alone. Funding will now be $100 million a year for 10 years, with a multi-fold increase in funding for the Lake Winnipeg basin. It’s good news for a lake that is one of the most stressed in North America and the world,” said Duguid.

The Liberal candidate said he expects Lake Winnipeg’s portion of the annual funding would grow “four or more times” higher, though exact amounts wouldn’t be revealed until the next budget.

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He said the Liberals would also support all three phases of the $1.854-billion north end sewage treatment plant upgrade in Winnipeg. So far, the city, province and feds have only worked out a deal to cover the cost of its first phase.

“We’ve stepped up on phase 1, we’ve committed to stepping up on phase 2 and phase 3. We’ve just got to get it done because Lake Winnipeg can’t wait,” said Duguid.

When completed, the final phase of that project would reduce the amount of algae-promoting nutrients that flow out of the sewage plant and wind up in Lake Winnipeg.

Joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga

Joyanne Pursaga
Reporter

Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne.

Every piece of reporting Joyanne produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.