MPP Piccini Announces Further Action to Protect the Great Lakes

Province investing $1.9 million to improve the health of the Great Lakes

The Ontario government is supporting projects that help communities protect and improve the health of the Great Lakes by investing an additional $1.9 million in the Great Lakes Local Action Fund.

“We all have a role to play in protecting and restoring the Great Lakes, and through the Great Lakes Local Action Fund, communities and local organizations can apply for funding to take environmental action right in their own backyards,” said David Piccini, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. “Following the success of our first round of funding, our government is proud to support more local projects to protect, conserve, and restore the Great Lakes and their watersheds for future generations.”

This new investment will help support innovative projects led by community-based organizations, small businesses, municipalities, conservation authorities, and Indigenous communities that focus on protecting and restoring coastal, shoreline and nearshore areas of the Great Lakes and its connecting rivers and streams.

Examples of the types of eligible projects include:

Restoring stream banks through the planting of trees and shrubs
Local waterfront clean-ups to improve human health and protect wildlife from plastic pollution
Application of best management practices to protect aquatic habitat and water quality – e.g. for fertilizers and road salt

The deadline to apply for the second round of funding through the Great Lakes Local Action Fund is 2 p.m. on March 11, 2022.

Quick Facts

In 2021, the province invested $1.9 million through the Great Lakes Local Action Fund in 44 projects led by community-based organizations, municipalities, conservation authorities and Indigenous communities to protect and restore coastal, shoreline and nearshore areas of the Great Lakes.
20 per cent of the world’s fresh water is found in the Great Lakes, making it the largest lake system in the world.
Ontario invests approximately $14 million per year in actions to protect and restore the Great Lakes, including projects that support commitments in the Canada-Ontario Agreement on Great Lakes Water Quality and Ecosystem Health and Ontario’s Great Lakes Strategy.
The Governments of Canada and Ontario recently signed the ninth Canada-Ontario Agreement on Great Lakes Water Quality and Ecosystem Health, which sets out specific actions each government will take to protect and restore the Great Lakes.