The story of how a B.C. man found his birth mother
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
The federal government has committed $420 million in funding over 10 years to preserve and restore waters of the Great Lakes.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the announcement Friday during the visit of United States President Joe Biden, who earmarked $1 billion over five years to improve those freshwater ecosystems in 2021.
"Our ongoing co-operation on issues such as trade, security and the environment reflects a strong commitment making life better for people on both sides of our shared border," Trudeau said in a release.
The money is to be focused on cleaning up a series of pollution hot spots. Three in Lake Superior and four in Lake Ontario are in Canadian waters, while another four are in waters shared by both countries. With three sites already remediated, it's part of the Canadian government's plan to clean up 12 of the 14 worst sites in the lakes by 2030.
Funding will also go to efforts to stop harmful algae blooms generated by agricultural run-off, as well as preventing harmful chemicals from entering those waters, which represent 20 per cent of world's surface freshwater and provide drinking water for 40 million people.
The government's goal is to reduce phosphorus going into Lake Erie from Canadian sources by more than 200 tonnes within 15 years.
Environmental groups on both sides of the border welcomed the announcement, but called it a down payment on what needs to be spent.
"It's a good first step," said Andrea Dube of Freshwater Future.
She said environmentalists have called for Canada to match the American funding.
"We're getting half of that, which is still significant. But in terms of what's at stake for Canada, it isn't enough."
She singled out algae blooms in Lake Erie and emerging toxins, such as perfluorooctane sulfonate, as areas where Canada needs to pay more attention.
Still, Mark Mattson of the group Swim Drink Fish said the funding quintuples Canada's environmental commitments to the Great Lakes.
"The announcement is really significant," he said in a release.
The funding was also welcomed south of the border.
"Commitments like these are a critical down payment in ensuring that the Great Lakes are brought back to health and can sustain a way of life for the millions of people who rely on them both in Canada and the United States," said a release from Joel Brammeier, president of the Alliance for the Great Lakes.
-- By Bob Weber in Edmonton
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 24, 2023.
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
A Montreal man is warning Tesla drivers about using the Smart Summon feature after his vehicle hit another in a parking lot.
Italy's mafia rarely dirties its hands with blood these days. Extortion rackets have gone out of fashion and murders are largely frowned upon by the godfathers.
The Israel-Hamas war has led to a spike in 'violent rhetoric' from 'extremist actors' that could prompt some in Canada to turn to violence, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service warns.
Russia plans to hold drills simulating the use of battlefield nuclear weapons, the Defense Ministry announced Monday, days after the Kremlin reacted angrily to comments by senior Western officials about the war in Ukraine and Moscow warned that tensions with the West are deepening.
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' and went down with the ship as the captain in 'Titanic,' has died.
Police say it’s fortunate no one was injured or killed in a collision at North Vancouver’s Park and Tilford shopping centre Saturday evening that sent one vehicle careening into a flower shop and another into a set of concrete barriers outside a Winners store.
The Israeli army on Monday ordered tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza's southern city of Rafah to start evacuating from the area, signalling that a long-promised ground invasion there could be imminent.
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A mother goose and her goslings caused a bit of a traffic jam on a busy stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway near Vancouver Saturday.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.