Title
ITEM FOR DISCUSSION - LAKE SIMCOE
WHEREAS Lake Simcoe is one of Ontario’s largest watersheds, home to First Nations since time immemorial, and situated in the growing communities of Simcoe County, York Region, Durham Region, and the cities of Barrie and Orillia; and
WHEREAS the watershed faces threats due to eutrophication, largely from phosphorus runoff and other contaminants into the lake and its tributaries; and
WHEREAS the lake is a significant source of drinking water, as well as being integral for local recreation, tourism, agriculture and other key economic drivers; and
WHEREAS the previous federal government funded a “Lake Simcoe Clean-Up Fund” of $65 million over 10 years between 2007-2017, but that fund has not been renewed; and
WHEREAS during the 2019 federal election, the Hon. Chrystia Freeland committed $40 million over 5 years towards Lake Simcoe; and
WHEREAS during the 2021 federal election, the Liberal Party of Canada committed to “Implement a strengthened Freshwater Action Plan, including a historic investment of $1 billion over 10 years. This plan will provide essential funding to protect and restore large lakes and river systems, starting with the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River System, Lake Simcoe…”; and
WHEREAS the Conservative Party of Canada also committed to re-funding the Lake Simcoe Clean-Up Fund in the 2019 and 2021 general elections with an investment of $30 million over five years; and
WHEREAS, further to the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change’s mandate letter, which directs the Minister to “…establish a Canada Water Agency and implement a strengthened Freshwater Action Plan, including a historic investment to provide funding to protect and restore large lakes and river systems, starting with the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River System, Lake Simcoe…”.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that The Corporation of the City of Barrie:
1) Supports federal funding for a Lake Simcoe Restoration Fund that represents a significant percentage of the overall Freshwater Action Plan Fund, with funding in excess of previous commitments, beginning in the 2022 budget; and
2 Asks that such funding be used to undertake:
a) Shoreline mitigation, stream restoration and stormwater quality management, including in the tributaries of Sophia Creek, Kidd’s Creek, Bunkers Creek, Dyments Creek, Hotchkiss Creek, Whiskey Creek, Lovers Creek, and Hewitts Creek; and
b) Projects to ameliorate contaminated sites in the watersheds; and
c) Upgrades to help retrofit municipal infrastructure such as wastewater treatment and stormwater management facilities to decrease total current discharges from existing facilities; and
d) The planting of 250,000 trees in the watershed and purchasing and conservation of more forests and wetlands under the auspices of the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority (LSRCA), to make significant progress towards the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan goal of 40 percent of the watershed area being protected natural land.
3) That a copy of this resolution, along with a letter from the Mayor, be sent to the federal Minister of Finance, the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, the President of the Treasury Board, the Members of Parliament for Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte, Barrie-Innisfil, Simcoe-North, York-Simcoe, Newmarket-Aurora, Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock, and Durham, and to all the Lake Simcoe Region municipalities and the LSRCA (Item for Discussion, 8.1, March 8, 2023)
Sponsor(s): Councillor, C. Riepma and Councillor, B. Hamilton