federal investment in phosphorus hotspots
Improving the health of Lake Winnipeg is a well-established national priority acknowledged through the policy priorities, mandate letters and throne speeches of successive federal governments.
Since 2020, LWF and our members have been advocating for the renewal of the Lake Winnipeg Basin Program (LWBP), a federal funding program for initiatives designed to reduce phosphorus loading to improve Lake Winnipeg water quality.
We achieved this goal in March 2023 with the release of the federal budget, which included dedicated multi-year funding for Canada’s freshwater lakes and rivers as part of a new Freshwater Action Plan.
evidence-based investment
We are recommending that phosphorus data generated by the Lake Winnipeg Community-Based Monitoring Network be integrated into the design of the now-renewed LWBP to ensure regional investments generate measurable results and long-term impact.
We expect targeted investment in persistent, recurring phosphorus hotspots, as well as robust phosphorus monitoring and strong accountability measures to ensure effective delivery of proposed outcomes.
We’re also calling for a federal funding program that supports Indigenous peoples in reclaiming and restoring their relationship with water, and enables Indigenous rightsholders and governments to participate fully and meaningfully in water governance and knowledge-sharing.
Realizing the Full Potential of Community-Based Monitoring
Our federal policy brief highlights how phosphorus data generated by the Lake Winnipeg Community-Based Monitoring Network (LWCBMN) can support regional decision-making and funding allocation, and urges any renewed federal program to explicitly recognize the value of LWCBMN data in order to effectively complete the data-to-impact cycle.
Grading the federal government’s performance on Lake Winnipeg
Together with the Lake Winnipeg Indigenous Collective, we continue to monitor progress on recommendations originally presented in our 2020 position paper, Five Things the Federal Government Must Do for Lake Winnipeg. Our latest report card highlights urgent next steps the federal government must take to meet its own objectives to protect and restore Lake Winnipeg’s water quality and ecosystem health, and to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
