Van Loan Calls on Province to Match Federal
Funds to Clean Up Lake Simcoe
"Time for study is
over. It's time for action."
For Immediate Release
March 27, 2008
(York - Simcoe) - In
response to an announcement today by the
Province of Ontario of another study into
Lake Simcoe, Peter Van Loan, MP for
York-Simcoe, is calling on the provincial
government to stop studying and take action.
"The time for study
is over. It is now time to act to
clean up Lake Simcoe," said MP Van Loan.
"I call upon the provincial government to
match the $30M in federal funding the
Federal Government announced last month to
preserve and protect Lake Simcoe."
In February, MP Van
Loan, alongside John Baird, Minister of the
Environment, announced that the federal
government will provide $30M over 5 years to
preserve and protect the environment of Lake
Simcoe. Last week, residents, community
groups, stakeholders, and others made
application for the first round of federal
funding. Money will start flowing this
year.
"The federal
government is leading the way to clean up
Lake Simcoe," continued MP Van Loan. "While
the provincial government announcement says
they want a 'gold standard' for Lake
Simcoe's environment, they aren't providing
any gold. It's time to step up, match the
federal dollars and actually do something."
The Lake Simcoe
Conservation Authority has already studied
the Lake extensively, and identified dozens
of physical remediation projects to improve
the Lake Simcoe environment, requiring an
investment of over $100 million.
Other recent actions
by the Conservative Government to protect
Lake Simcoe's environment include mandatory
rules to protect the ecosystem from the
threat of invasive species, a ban of dumping
waste and sewage from watercraft, and a move
to virtually ban phosphates in detergents.
-30-
For further information, contact Peter Van
Loan, (905) 898-1600.
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