Protect the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence River Basin and the Lake Winnipeg Basin.

What success looks like

Increased protection for the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence River Basin and the Lake Winnipeg Basin so they can continue to be enjoyed by future generations.

Government's narrative on progress

Through Budget 2017, the government is providing funding to protect Canada’s freshwater resources, including the Great Lakes and Lake Winnipeg basins. The government is expanding efforts to address toxic and nuisance algae, as well as aquatic invasive species programming, which will further help address the threats posed by such species as Asian Carps and Sea Lamprey. As announced in Budget 2017, the government is investing $44.84 million to protect Great Lakes water quality, and $25.7 million for the Lake Winnipeg Basin Program. In addition, the government invested $43.8 million to protect against aquatic invasive species in Canadian waters. The Asian Carp Program received funding as part of this investment, which has allowed the government to improve early detection capabilities and increase the number of sites being monitored for Asian carp in the Great Lakes. The funding has also increased the capacity of Canada’s Sea Lamprey Control Program to reduce the numbers of this destructive, invasive species by assessing larval populations, treating them with lampricides and maintaining and improving physical barriers and dams that prevent sea lamprey from accessing spawning habitat in tributaries to the Great Lakes. A program on freshwater aquatic invasive species is being deployed in Quebec in 2018-2019, which will complement marine species monitoring already underway in the Saint Lawrence and fund work with the government of Quebec to detect and prevent the invasion of Asian carps in Quebec. The government is also increasing outreach to assist Canadians with identifying, responding and properly reporting any invasive species they catch. In June 2017, the governments of Canada and Quebec announced continued investment in the conservation and enhancement of the St. Lawrence River Basin to enhance water quality, protect biodiversity and ensure its sustainable use. The government has also begun two research projects to assess the contribution of organic matter and nutrient inputs and oxygen depletion in the deep waters of the Laurentian Channel. In November 2018, the government launched a new mobile app which will be a valuable tool for Ontario's recreational fishers to help keep invasive species out of Ontario waters and protect aquatic species at risk in the Great Lakes. In March 2019, Fisheries and Oceans Canada released the Socio-Economic Risk Assessment Of The Presence Of Grass Carp In The Great Lakes Basin to supplement the bi-National Ecological Risk Assessment that was released in 2017. This study will be used to inform management and policy decisions across the Great Lakes basin to prevent the spread and establishment of Grass Carp.

Note: this is the government's own description, not an independent assessment.