KLEIN: Real action needed to clean up Lake Winnipeg

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This week, the Manitoba government announced what they claim is a significant move toward cleaning up Lake Winnipeg.

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The government established new nutrient targets that they say will protect Manitoba’s lakes and rivers for future generations. Tracy Schmidt, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, described the announcement as a major step forward in water quality protection for Manitobans.

The regulation, which sets the first formal nutrient reduction target for Lake Winnipeg and its tributaries, aims to improve water quality in Manitoba. According to Schmidt, these nutrient targets will help guide future nutrient reduction activities, establish priorities, and provide a measurable benchmark for progress.

But will these measures lead to change? Setting limits and targets sounds good in a press release, but without enforcement, they amount to little more than a photo opportunity. The truth is, Manitoba has been down this road before, and the outcomes have not been encouraging. Requirements and deadlines have been put in place only to be ignored or not enforced.

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Take for example the City of Winnipeg’s combined sewer issue and the North End Treatment plant. These have both been issues of grave concern for years, with deadlines being put in place. Both parties are equally culpable when it comes to holding the City of Winnipeg accountable for its environmental responsibilities.

It was more than 15 years ago, that the Clean Environment Commission released a report stating the North End Treatment plant needed replacement. Despite this clear recommendation, the report was ignored by successive governments, both NDP and Conservative. Today, the situation remains much the same, with little being done to rectify the ongoing issue of nutrient pollution in Lake Winnipeg. We are still talking about it today.

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One has to wonder why the City of Winnipeg, which skims tens of millions of dollars in profits from water and sewer rates, has not used those funds to finance the upgrades that were deemed necessary at the North End Treatment plant decades ago. It is a question that has yet to be adequately answered by city officials. Instead of taking decisive action, we see a familiar pattern of delays, deflections, and excuses.

However, I spoke with Councillor Brain Mayes who was fired by Mayor Gillingham as chairman responsible for Water and Waste. He told me that the City set aside $18 million in the budget towards the cost of completing Phase Three of the North End Treatment plant, which costs is estimated to exceed one billion dollars.

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The evidence is clear: The city siphons tens of millions from water and waste profits and directs those dollars to general revenues. However, they only put aside a minuscule amount, $18 million, for a billion-dollar-plus project while continuing to impact the environment and Lake Winnipeg negatively. This is proof that the legislation is meaningless to both levels of government.

The combined sewer project in Winnipeg is further evidence that deadlines are meaningless to the City of Winnipeg and the provincial governments. For instance, Councillor Mayes told the Winnipeg Sun that he agreed with the combined sewer deadline of 2045 imposed by the previous Conservative government. However, Mayes tells us that at the current pace of funding that Mayor Gillingham has put in his budget, the combined sewer work would not be completed until 2090 — a full 45 years past the target date.

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This is why I believe these environmental targets and deadlines are nothing more than appeasing the environmental advocacy groups that come out to support the elected officials who make the right promises at election time.

The people of Manitoba deserve to see real progress and action, not just promises and targets that are never met. The City of Winnipeg and any other municipality that violates environmental standards should be held accountable.

Now, some will argue that this would mean we, the people, ultimately pay the price of any fines through taxes or fees, but accountability does not always have to be financial. For example, publishing a “report card” that outlines each city councillor’s actions — or lack thereof — regarding environmental standards could provide voters with a clear picture when the next election comes around. If there are no real consequences for failing to meet these targets, then we are doomed to repeat the same cycle of inaction.

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The crux of the matter is simple: setting nutrient levels and deadlines is only a part of the solution and is a step in the right direction, but without concrete action and strict enforcement, it will not amount to much. For the sake of Lake Winnipeg and all who depend on it, Manitobans need their leaders to do more than make announcements. They need them to act.

Time is not on our side. The longer we wait, the worse the problem becomes. The nutrient pollution that is currently plaguing Lake Winnipeg has taken decades to reach this critical point. It will take equally sustained and serious efforts to reverse it. Manitobans must demand more from their government — more than words, more than promises, and more than empty press releases. We need a real plan backed by real commitment and followed by real action.

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If we are to see Lake Winnipeg indeed restored and protected for future generations, our leaders must recognize that this is not just about setting targets, it is about meeting them. Meeting them requires more than the usual political manoeuvring and delay tactics. It requires honesty, accountability, and the courage to make the tough decisions that will lead to real progress.

These are necessary to prevent this week’s announcement from being just another in a long line of failed attempts to do right by one of Manitoba’s most cherished natural resources.

— Kevin Klein is a former Tory cabinet minister, a former city councillor and is the President & CEO of Klein Group Ltd.

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