GREATER NAPANEE — The Ontario government is investing $6 million to support 30 multi-year projects to help protect, conserve and restore the Great Lakes. These investments will help reduce plastic litter, excess nutrients and road salt entering lakes, rivers and streams, advance climate resiliency, and make significant progress on restoring environmentally degraded areas of the Great Lakes.

“Our government is continuing to work with partners to ensure Ontario’s Great Lakes are protected,” said David Piccini, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. “We’re very proud to be supporting projects that will improve water quality, reduce plastic and salt pollution and increase collaboration with farmers, Indigenous organizations and communities to help improve the Great Lakes.”

The projects are led by community groups, not-for profits, conservation authorities, universities and Indigenous organizations and communities across the province and support commitments in the Canada-Ontario Agreement on Great Lakes Water Quality and Ecosystem Health and Ontario’s Great Lakes Strategy.

Some of the organizations receiving funding include:

• Lower Trent Region Conservation Authority, which received $65,000 to work with area farmers to reduce excess nutrients from agricultural lands. Kaiser Lake Farms in Greater Napanee is one of the farms taking action on their land to help improve water quality and help restore the Bay of Quinte Area of Concern.
• Quinte Conservation Association, which received $162,791 to reduce nuisance algae and manage phosphorus in the Bay of Quinte Area of Concern. The project will also monitor and maintain the area's water quality, fish and wildlife habitat while identifying emerging threats such as invasive species and climate change.
• St. Lawrence River Institute of Environmental Sciences, which received $402,187 for projects that will continue monitoring mercury in fish, sediment and industrial sites to make sure clean-up actions in the St. Lawrence River Area of Concern were effective and support the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne to study the health of Lake Sturgeon and Eel.
• Raisin Region Conservation Authority, which received $140,000 to develop and implement an agricultural land stewardship program and facilitate an outreach and education program to improve water quality within the St. Lawrence River Area of Concern.
• Governing Council of the University of Toronto, which received $610,416 to assess Great Lakes water quality (quantifying nutrients loadings, chlorides, microplastics discharges and tire compounds), evaluate drinking water treatment processes and assess practices that reduce excess nutrients and nutrient runoff from agricultural lands to the Great Lakes.

Great Lakes Program funding is also going to Chiefs of Ontario, Anishinabek Nation and Métis Nation of Ontario as well as 11 First Nations and Métis communities which will lead projects to support commitments in the latest Canada-Ontario Agreement on Great Lakes Water Quality and Ecosystem Health and Ontario’s Great Lakes Strategy.

Funding for the Great Lakes Program is part of the Ontario government’s $14 million in annual investments to further protect, conserve and restore the health of the Great Lakes and support the well-being of communities that rely on them.

Quick Facts

Quotes

""A resilient agriculture and food industry has a direct co-relation to the health of our Great Lakes. Today’s announcement is another positive step in advancing best practices that support the goals outlined in Ontario’s Great Lakes Strategy. We are taking a multi-ministry approach to positioning Ontario as 'best in class' when it comes to good stewardship and a healthy ecosystem associated with our Great Lakes."

- Lisa Thompson
Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

"We’ve always known that farmers are some of the best stewards of our lands. I’m so pleased to see our government partnering with farmers for environmental protection for all."

- Ric Bresee
MPP for Hastings-Lennox and Addington

"The Great Lakes funding provided by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks will make it possible for us to support implementation of Best Management Practices as we work to remove the Bay of Quinte from the Areas of Concern list. This will help reduce soil erosion, resulting in reduced phosphorus entering the Bay of Quinte and local waterways, which improves water quality. The Bay provides this area with numerous amenities, everything from quality drinking water to the economic spin-off of a world-class recreational fishery. This funding will help keep the Bay a sustainable and valuable resource for future generations."

- Anne Anderson
Manager or Community Outreach and Special Projects at Lower Trent Region Conservation Authority

"Monitoring programs being delivered with this funding will assist with tracking long-term trends to ensure the health and sustainable use of local waterbodies. Stewardship activities to assist landowners with planting buffer strips and cover crops, fencing livestock, upgrading septic systems, and other activities contribute to reducing or mitigating impacts to Great Lakes water quality. These are some of the ways conservation authority programs are helping Ontario meet nutrient reduction targets to ensure healthy watersheds."

- Brad McNevin
Chief Administrative Officer of Quinte Conservation Association

"Funding from the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks will ensure continued progress towards restoring the St. Lawrence River Area of Concern by assessing and implementing strategies to minimize exposure to legacy contaminants, particularly mercury in fish and sediments. MECP funding is also helping us build and strengthen inclusive partnerships for a more sustainable and resilient future through its support for the St. Lawrence River Strategy."

- Georgia Bock
Remedial Action Plan Coordinator for the St. Lawrence River Area of Concern

"The funding and support from the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks will provide an opportunity to include Indigenous perspectives and cultural dimensions in the Remedial Action Plan process. The inclusion of cultural dimensions provides additional opportunity to expand the reach of the assessment and management of our shared Area of Concern at Cornwall and Akwesasne. This opportunity will allow for a more in-depth and holistic approach to caring for the St. Lawrence River and reaching our shared goals to have a beautiful and healthy river that can be enjoyed by future generations."

- Britney Bourdages
Remedial Action Plan Coordinator at the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne for the St. Lawrence River (Cornwall/Akwesasne) Area of Concern

"We are pleased to see the Ministry supporting a sustainable St. Lawrence River watershed by investing in the Remedial Action Plan for our region. Through this initiative, the Raisin Region Conservation Authority is working with farmers to foster the implementation of agricultural best management practices that benefit both their operations and the health of our watersheds."

- Martin Lang
Chair, Raisin Region Conservation Authority Board of Directors

"Funding from the Province of Ontario has been instrumental in developing a multitude of environmental models that evaluate the prevailing water quality conditions in the Bay of Quinte, and determine the optimal management actions to mitigate the impact of agricultural activities and urbanization. The support provided by the province can be very useful in this direction and can facilitate decisions for sound resource allocation."

- George Arhonditsis
Professor and Chair, Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough