Today, the Hon. Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change announced that I will be leading community collaboration efforts to address water quality issues in the Lake Winnipeg Basin.

Budget 2017 has allocated $25.7M over five years to the Lake Winnipeg Basin Program, to improve the ecosystem health of Lake Winnipeg and its watershed. Lake Winnipeg, Canada’s sixth largest lake, generates millions of dollars of revenue in the hydroelectricity, recreation, and commercial freshwater fishing industries for Manitoba. For decades now, Lake Winnipeg has experienced algal blooms, affecting not only our industries, but also the many communities that rely on the lake for their livelihood and sustenance.

As many of you know, I have consistently advocated for measures to protect Lake Winnipeg and to strengthen basin-wide collaboration to tackle the issue of water quality and excessive nutrient loading in the Lake Winnipeg Basin. I believe that we can solve this crisis only by harnessing the shared knowledge of stakeholders, Indigenous Peoples and the scientific community.