NDP tables motion to protect health of Lake Simcoe ahead of World Water Day
A motion presented at Queen's Park aimed at safeguarding Lake Simcoe falls on the eve of recognition of World Water Day.
Sandy Shaw, the NDP Official Opposition Critic for Environment, Conservation, and Parks, held a press conference alongside Claire Malcolmson, the executive director of the rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition, urging the government to swiftly implement a protection strategy to address the deteriorating health of the lake.
According to Shaw, Lake Simcoe accumulates significant amounts of stormwater runoff, impacting the water's health. Phosphorus in the runoff creates algae, which she said throws the entire system off balance.
Shaw's motion outlines three key steps: enforcing the 2008 Lake Simcoe Protection Act to reduce phosphorus loads to 44 tonnes annually by 2030, assessing the environmental impacts of the proposed Bradford Bypass and associated urban sprawl on water quality, and initiating construction of a phosphorus reduction facility by year-end.
The conservative government has committed to funding the plant; however, Malcolmson said that's only fixing one to two per cent of the problem.
"We do know that development in the watershed is projected to be really heavy in the decades ahead. And we know that sprawl, the movement of earth, and the loss of farmlands and sometimes wetlands and forests... all of those things negatively impact the lake. So we need to look at the whole picture," said Malcolmson.
Malcolmson also raised concerns about rising salt levels in Lake Simcoe, which, combined with high phosphorus levels and warming water temperatures, exacerbate algae outbreaks. She urged the province to tackle this issue alongside phosphorus reduction efforts.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trump confronts repeated boos during raucous Libertarian convention speech
Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing Saturday night’s Libertarian Party National Convention.
Grayson Murray, two-time PGA Tour winner, dead at 30
Two-time PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray died Saturday morning at age 30, one day after he withdrew from the Charles Schwab Cup Challenge at Colonial.
Family of toddler found dead at small-town Ont. daycare no closer to answers after year of investigation
A year has passed since two-year-old Vienna Irwin was found on the property of a home-based daycare in small-town Ontario, but her family says they are no closer to answers of what happened that day.
Here's what every key witness said at Donald Trump's hush money trial. Closing arguments are coming
After 22 witnesses, including a porn actor, tabloid publisher and White House insiders, testimony is over at Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York.
More seniors are using homeless shelters. Here's why, according to experts
One of the country’s homeless shelters has seen an uptick in the number of people through its doors, including more older adults over 50.
This type of screen time has the worst effect on kids: experts
According to some experts, there is one type of screen time that is continuously excessive, and it's having a severe effect on our children.
Norway hands over papers for diplomatic recognition to the Palestinian prime minister
Norway on Sunday handed over diplomatic papers to the Palestinian prime minister in the latest step toward recognizing a Palestinian state, a largely symbolic move that has infuriated Israel.
Man or machine? Toronto company finds a way to determine how real audio clips are
The Toronto-based research arm of life sciences technology firm Klick Health has found a way to analyze voices in a manner that’s so granular, it can tell whether it's a person or an artificial intelligence-powered machine.
J.H. Tabaret statue at uOttawa vandalized
The statue of J.H. Tabaret at the University of Ottawa (uOttawa) has been vandalized, as a picture taken by CTV News shows red paint sprayed all over it.