On World Water Day, the Government of Canada announces funding for new community projects to protect fresh water

REPENTIGNY, QC, March 22, 2024 /CNW/ - On World Water Day, Canada joins many other countries in highlighting the importance of protecting and conserving our freshwater heritage. Canada is home to 20 percent of the world's freshwater reserves. Healthy lakes and rivers are essential to Canadians, communities, and businesses across the country.

Today, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, announced over $800,000 in funding for new projects and ongoing initiatives under the Community Interaction Program. As part of the St. Lawrence Action Plan 2011–2026, the Community Interaction Program supports community projects aimed at conserving biodiversity, promoting sustainability, and improving water quality in the St. Lawrence River. Investing in these community-based freshwater projects will result in measurable, positive environmental outcomes that will benefit Canada's future generations in the long term.

The beneficiaries who will receive funding include the following:

• The Comité ZIP des Seigneuries has received $200,000 to carry out removal and shrub‑planting activities to counter the Common Water Reed, an invasive alien plant present on Île-Lebel, Repentigny.
  
  
• The Comité ZIP du Haut-Saint-Laurent has received $97,000 to carry out invasive alien plant control, as well as restoration and revegetation activities, to improve marsh water quality and protect biodiversity on Île-Perrot.
  
  
• The Abenaki Council of Odanak has received over $75,000 to carry out the second phase of a project to build a stream with the aim of raising the water level, improving the circulation of Yellow Perch and increasing the size of its habitat.

The Community Interaction Program is jointly administered by Environment and Climate Change Canada and Quebec's Ministère de l'Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs (Ministry of the Environment, the Fight Against Climate Change, and Wildlife and Parks).

The Canada Water Agency implements Canada's Freshwater Action Plan, which supports targeted regional actions to protect Canada's freshwater bodies of national significance, including the St. Lawrence River.

The call for applications for the Community Interaction Program is now open. Interested organizations have until April 10, 2024, to submit their proposals. For more information on how to apply or eligibility criteria, please visit the St. Lawrence Action Plan website.

"The St. Lawrence is at the heart of the social, economic, and cultural life of Quebecers, and it is their main source of drinking water. Its unique ecosystem and habitats remind us of the importance of supporting community projects to preserve biodiversity and protect fresh water in Canada. Thanks to the Community Interaction Program, communities, partners, and stakeholders are taking concrete action toward a common goal: improving the St. Lawrence ecosystem. This collaboration makes it possible to carry out sustainable, measurable projects now, and in the longer term."
– The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change

"The wildlife developments at the Odanak marshes improve the breeding and nursery habitats for Yellow Perch and make them more accessible, contributing to efforts to restore the Yellow Perch population in Lake Saint-Pierre. This work, while essential, must be carried out as part of a collective effort to ensure the healthy use of the natural habitats of Lake Saint-Pierre and its floodplain."
– Théo Allart, Project Manager, Odanak Environment and Land Office

"We are delighted that Minister Guilbeault has chosen Repentigny to unveil additional investments of such importance, aimed at preserving, restoring, and enhancing the sustainable uses and water quality of the St. Lawrence. Our river, a symbol of our shared heritage, is a source of pride for us in Repentigny, offering a wealth of natural resources for the well-being of our fellow citizens, as well as economic and mobility opportunities. Today's announcement marks a strong commitment by the federal government to this vision, and we're very pleased."
– Nicolas Dufour, Mayor of Repentigny

"Thanks to the leadership of the Comité ZIP des Seigneuries, the community was able to plan the control of a 3.54 hectare colony of Common Water Reed in a priority ecosystem in southern Lanaudière. The results to date have been very promising: by the summer of 2023, the colony's surface area had already been reduced by 62 percent."
– Sophie Lemire, Executive Director, Comité ZIP des Seigneuries

"RécréoNature Repentigny helps visitors to its facilities get closer to nature, every day. The Sentiers de la Presqu'île, with its wetland trails, as well as Parc de l'Île-Lebel and Parc Saint-Laurent, which offer privileged contact with the St. Lawrence River, are attracting growing interest from outdoor enthusiasts on a daily basis. Today's announcement by Minister Steven Guilbeault is a major contribution to our objectives. We're very grateful."
– Julien Gariépy, President, RécréoNature Repentigny

• The 2023 budget provided $650 million over 10 years, starting in 2023–2024, to support monitoring, assessment, and restoration work in the Great Lakes, Lake Winnipeg, Lake of the Woods, the St. Lawrence River, the Fraser River, the Wolastoq/St. John River, the Mackenzie River, and Lake Simcoe.
• Under the Canada–Quebec Agreement on the St. Lawrence 2011–2026, also known as the St. Lawrence Action Plan, the governments of Canada and Quebec have allocated more than $8.7 million to more than 125 projects aimed at improving the St. Lawrence ecosystem under the Community Interaction Program.
• The Community Interaction Program supports projects that aim to:
  
  • Raise public awareness and encourage behavioural change
  • Develop intervention plans or field studies and implement appropriate actions
  • Protect or restore biodiversity in the St. Lawrence
  • Encourage community participation in environmental projects

• Community Interaction Program | St. Lawrence Action Plan
• Community Interaction Program
• Canada Water Agency

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SOURCE Environment and Climate Change Canada