The Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, reiterated on Wednesday his commitment to reform the legislation surrounding the use of water, while formalizing the establishment of the headquarters of the new Canada Water Agency in Winnipeg, Manitoba .
Mr. Trudeau affirmed that the priority of his government was the revision of the law regulating the use and the development of this natural resource in Canada.
“The threats and realities facing our environment have changed since [la loi] was written in 1970,” he said at a press conference Wednesday in the Manitoban capital.
“Updating this legislation is to ensure we have the tools to work with provinces and territories to protect and restore shared waters,” Prime Minister Trudeau added.
He did not specify what changes will be made to the Canada Water Resources Act.
The current act provides a framework for cooperation with provinces and territories regarding the conservation, development and use of Canada’s water resources.
Legislative reform is also intended to reflect new realities surrounding freshwater in Canada, including the effects of climate change and the importance of the rights of Indigenous peoples.
“We have already taken unprecedented steps to safeguard our waters here in Canada. While less than 1% of our marine and coastal areas were protected in 2015, this area has grown to over 14% today. But there is still a lot of work to be done,” said Mr. Trudeau.
The modernization of the law will be one of the missions of the future Canadian Water Agency, whose establishment the Prime Minister formalized on Wednesday. Mr. Trudeau did not specify in which area of Winnipeg the organization will settle or when it will be operational.
The federal government’s budget tabled earlier this year provided funds for the creation of the agency and suggested that its headquarters be established in Winnipeg.
The new organization must therefore benefit from an envelope of $85.1 million over five years and then support of $21 million per year.
In a news release, Ottawa said more details on the agency’s priorities and mandate will be known soon. It also mentions that “a bill will be presented by the end of 2023 to establish an autonomous body that will report to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change”.
In addition to the revision of the Water Resources Act, it is at least established that the new agency will also have to lead the implementation of the main measures provided for in the Action Plan on fresh water.
This program includes an investment of $420 million over 10 years for Great Lakes protection initiatives.
Mr. Trudeau also recalled that the 2023 budget contains an amount of more than 750 million, a significant part of which will support work to monitor, assess and restore important water bodies over the next ten years. .
The St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes are among the areas that will benefit from these investments.
Before making the announcement on water protection on Wednesday, Mr. Trudeau met in the morning with Aboriginal students from a high school. He was to attend a public meeting that evening.