Ottawa contributes $8.6 million for Lake Simcoe cleanup

By Dominik Kurek Bradford West Gwillimbury Topic

York Region and area farmers and grassroots initiatives are big winners today after the federal government announced another $8.6 million to clean up Lake Simcoe and its watershed.

This funding is part of a 10-year commitment that puts Ottawa more than halfway through what will be nearly $60 million in contributions to support the Lake Simcoe Clean-Up Fund. The fund has received $30 million from 2007 to 2012 and will receive $29 million over the next five years.

“This is something that continues that vision. It is a vision I should also say that really did come from the local groups that cared about the health of the lake,” said York-Simcoe MP Peter Van Loan, who announced the new funding.

Mr. Van Loan was speaking at a media event at Carron Farms on the marsh in Bradford Tuesday.

The $8.6 million kicks off the second phase of the clean-up fund and will support 26 projects that will help restore and protect the health of Lake Simcoe and south-eastern Georgian Bay. The initial $30 million in funding supported more than 160 projects that were mostly focused on remediation.

This federal money is going out to various grassroots organizations that will carry out the lake restoration project. Those community organizations are contributing nearly $16 million themselves for these projects.

Some of the recipients of the funding include organizations such as the Georgina Ladies of the Lake group and the Holland Marsh Growers’ Association.

The Ladies, for example, support a number of small-scale restoration projects, mostly on the shoreline of the lake, which will permit continued use of recreation areas, while at the same time improving the lake’s environmental health.

Since the clean-up fund started in 2007, the lake’s health has already improved, Mr. Van Loan said.

“Already we are seeing improvements in the phosphorous levels and in the environment as a result. In fact, we have species of fish that are breeding naturally in the watershed that hadn’t done so in decades.”

Carron Farms president Jason Verkaik said the approximately 115 Holland Marsh family farms are happy to be part of the cleanup efforts.

The farmers and growers’ association are working on innovative and alternative treatment technologies and management approaches to reduce the phosphorous discharge from horticultural operations and reduce water use.

Mr. Verkaik said previous tests have shown the Holland Marsh contributes less than 3 per cent of the phosphorous levels into Lake Simcoe.

“That’s a pretty exciting number to talk about because it really shows that the growers here are doing their due diligence when they’re using their fertilizers and understanding what goes into the soil and what the plants take out of the soil,” he said.

“We have a very minimal phosphorous loading into Lake Simcoe, but what’s really exciting is the farmers and growers here want to reduce that even more.”

Mr. Van Loan also acknowledged the former federal finance minister Jim Flaherty who died last week, saying it was thanks to him that this cleanup funding was made available.

When Mr. Van Loan originally attempted to tap into funding that supports the Great Lakes, he learned that would have required an amendment to two treaties with the United States government.

Instead, he collaborated with other area MPs to advocate for a different solution and asked the government to create a stand-alone fund for Lake Simcoe.

Mr. Van Loan said the prime minister and Mr. Flaherty created this fund at the request of the local MPs.

“We owe him that tribute and that credit this week as we announce yet another step forward in the cleanup of Lake Simcoe,” Mr. Van Loan said.

Barrie MP Patrick Brown said Lake Simcoe is at the heart of the county and is admired and enjoyed by the members of the community.

“The goal of this fund is to make sure that future generations can enjoy the same clean lake that we’re able to enjoy today,” he said.