Spring allergy season has begun. Where is it worse in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
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.
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.
Crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison for a massive fraud that unravelled with the collapse of FTX, once one of the world's most popular platforms for exchanging digital currency.
Peggy is a stout and muscular Staffordshire bull terrier, and Molly is a magpie, an Australian bird best known for swooping on humans during breeding season, not for befriending dogs. But in an emotional video posted online, Peggy’s owners announced that the animals had been separated.
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
B.C. conservation officers recently seized a nine-foot-long Burmese python from a home in Chilliwack.
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
The Ontario government is introducing changes to auto-insurance, but some experts say the move is ill-advised.
Newfoundland’s unique version of the Pine Marten has grown out of its threatened designation.
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
A Toronto man is out $12,000 after falling victim to a deepfake cryptocurrency scam that appeared to involve Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
It started small with a little pop tab collection to simply raise some money for charity and help someone — but it didn’t take long for word to get out that 10-year-old Jace Weber from Mildmay, Ont. was quickly building up a large supply of aluminum pop tabs.
There’s a group of people in Saskatoon that proudly call themselves dumpster divers, and they’re turning the city’s trash into treasure.
Ontario is facing a larger than anticipated deficit but the Doug Ford government still plans to balance its books before the next provincial election.