Georgina, Bradford West Gwillimbury councils making waves for Lake Simcoe protection

Yorkregion.com
March 28, 2022

Councillors within the Lake Simcoe watershed -- Georgina, Bradford West Gwillimbury, East Gwillimbury, Newmarket, Oro-Medonte, Innisfil, Orillia, Brock and Barrie -- are making waves for the protection and health of Lake Simcoe.

Councillors in each Lake Simcoe municipality presented a motion creating an ‘unprecedented, united front’ calling on the federal government to significantly invest in one of the largest watersheds in the province.

Municipalities are urging the federal government to make do on previous election promises to fund the Lake Simcoe Clean-Up Fund.

“We are all part of Lake Simcoe’s watershed,” Georgina Mayor Margaret Quirk said. “It only makes sense for all of us to work together for its protection. We can’t do it alone.”

Growth in York and Durham regions as well as in Simcoe County, Barrie and Orillia will have an impact on the health of the lake, which currently faces threats due to phosphorus runoff and other contaminants into the lake and its tributaries.

“This is about the future,” said Georgina Coun. Dave Neeson. “(We have) to ensure the watershed, as a whole, remains vibrant. It really is inspiring to see councillors from Newmarket to Orillia, Brock to Bradford standing up for our lake.”

Last fall, Lake Simcoe municipalities also pushed York Region to expedite the construction of the proposed Holland Marsh phosphorus recycling facility.

Since 2017, funding for the Lake Simcoe Clean-Up Fund has not been renewed. During the 2021 federal election, the Liberal Party of Canada promised to invest about $1 billion over the next 10 years to strengthen the Freshwater Action Plan to protect and restore large lakes and river systems across the country, including Lake Simcoe.

“This is an unprecedented, united front of municipal leaders calling for the federal government to fulfil and in fact exceed promises made in the last two elections to protect our watershed,” said Bradford West Gwillimbury Coun. Jonathan Scott.

“We’re unified in saying that our lake and rivers need significant federal funding to restore shoreline habitats, clean up contaminated sites and reduce discharges from wastewater, all so we can protect the future vitality of the Lake Simcoe region.”

Lake Simcoe Municipalities are calling for: federal funding for a Lake Simcoe Restoration Fund, which represents a significant percentage of the Freshwater Action Plan Fund starting with the 2022 federal budget.

The health of Lake Simcoe goes hand-in-hand with future development, said East Gwillimbury Coun. Scott Crone.

"We know we have to deliver sustainable development so the growth in our region does not negatively impact the lake," he said.

The funding would be used for a number of specific programs including: shoreline mitigation and restoration for the Holland, Maskinonge, Pefferlaw and Black rivers as well as in the Holland Marsh; mitigate contaminated sites within the watershed; retrofit municipal infrastructure such as wastewater and storm water facilities to decrease discharge into the watershed; and planting 250,000 trees within the watershed, purchasing and conservation of more forests and wetlands.

“The Lake Simcoe watershed provides nourishment and life to the ecosystem,” said Newmarket Coun. Christina Bisanz. “It is our moral duty to protect and preserve it.”