This was announced by Minister for the Environment and Climate Change, Steven Guilbeault, on Friday on the banks of the Rivière des Mille Îles in Laval.
Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault announced the investment on Friday.
Photo: Radio Canada / Jean-Philippe Hugues
The funding will enable Éco-Nature to carry out a conservation project that includes the snapping turtle, little bittern and American water willow.
“The Government of Canada is committed to halting and reversing the loss of nature by 2030 and then achieving full restoration of the natural environment by 2050.”
— A quote from Steven Guilbeault, Federal Minister for the Environment
A snapping turtle
Photo: Facebook/Department of Forests, Wildlife and Parks
The habitat protection project will take place on different and interconnected sites near the Rivière-des-Mille-Îles Park, in the river but also in marshlands, islands, marshes, forests and wastelands.
The Rivière des Mille Îles, this jewel of biodiversity, must be protected, explained Christine Métayer, Director General of ECO-Nature, during the press conference.
It is the habitat of[es] Inhabited by nearly 90 endangered species, three-quarters of the province’s bird species are rare, threatened and endangered species, Ms Métayer added.
Minister Guilbeault explained that the benefits will be significant for the fauna and flora, but also for the community.
This $400,000 investment is in addition to the $218,000 granted to Éco-Nature between 2019 and 2022 for the first phase of this project.
The Rivière des Mille Îles is a jewel that we absolutely must protect. Today’s announcement is another great proof of that. This allows us to respect, observe and visit a true oasis of biodiversity, home to two-thirds of the vertebrate fauna, close to the urban heart of Quebec, said the mayor of Laval, Stéphane Boyer.