The Federal Government Stumbles in Budget 2022: 5 Things Report Card Update
In March 2022 we released the one-year report card on Five Things the federal government must do for Lake Winnipeg, on World Water Day (March 22, 2022). We found the federal government was too slow to act on many key opportunities.
Now with the release of budget 2022 (April 7), we were further disheartened to see further funding cuts. We can’t say we are surprised, at the lack of follow through on the crucial recommendations we put forth to protect the sacred, and ensure the health of Lake Winnipeg for future generations.
We have since made an adjustment to the initial report card since Budget 2022 came out. The adjustment better represents the lack of commitment to Lake Winnipeg from the federal government.
The revised grade
In the initial report card, the government received a B in section 2.1 > “Renew the Lake Winnipeg Basin Program in Budget 2022. Strengthen accountability in funding arrangements to achieve program objectives,” meaning they were “On track towards fulfillment with opportunities for improvement.”
Although the commitments made by policy makers and elected officials were promising, with 1 billion going towards freshwater for the next ten years, the federal government had since shown that symbolic gestures and empty promises without action are just that, symbolic gestures and empty promises.
We must downgrade them to an “F,” bringing their total grades to 2 “F’s” out of their 13 marks.
You can read the adjusted one-year report card.
You can read the original Five Things the Federal Government Must Do for Lake Winnipeg, we released in collaboration with LWF back in December 2020.
Take Action:
Join us in advocating for federal investment in Lake Winnipeg. Send an email to Environment and Climate Change Canada Minister Steven Guilbeault.
Email Template:
“Dear Minister Guilbeault,
I am reaching out to let you know how disappointed I am to see a reduction in funding for Lake Winnipeg in Budget 2022.
From 2008 to 2022, the Lake Winnipeg Basin Program invested in regionally focused research and collaborative phosphorus-reduction initiatives. This program has been a critically important part of the solution for Lake Winnipeg. By failing to renew this program in Budget 2022, your government is risking progress made over the past 15 years to address the eutrophication of Lake Winnipeg.
Your government’s 2021 election platform promised $1 billion over 10 years to protect and restore Canada’s lakes and rivers. The mandate letter you received from the Prime Minister in December directed to you to follow through on this commitment by securing “a historic investment… to protect and restore large lakes and river systems.”
Instead, Budget 2022 allocated only $19.6 million to the Freshwater Action Plan – and for only a single year.
To remedy this shortfall, I strongly urge you to:
Earmark a minimum of $7.1 million in 2022-23 to Lake Winnipeg, to support evidence-based phosphorus reduction and Indigenous engagement. Anything less amounts to a funding cut from previous federal investment in Lake Winnipeg initiatives.
Follow through on the direction you have been given and commit to the $1 billion, 10-year Freshwater Action Plan in Budget 2023.
Lake Winnipeg is Canada’s Great Lake of the West. Please fulfil your mandate to protect it.
I would appreciate a reply to this email.
Sincerely,
Your name”