"TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Canada has pledged a significant increase in spending to improve water quality in the Great Lakes following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, whose administration also has boosted funding for the shared waters.
Following their discussion Friday in Ottawa, Trudeau said his government would spend $420 million — about $306 million in U.S. dollars — over the next decade on the lakes, still suffering fron 20th century industrial pollution and newer challenges such as climate change, PFAS chemicals and microplastics.
The announcement came weeks after U.S. Congress members prodded Biden to seek more support for the lakes from Canada, which critics have accused of doing too little.
“The Great Lakes are a source of drinking water for 40 million people, and this shared resource needs to be protected,” Trudeau said. “This is why Canada will make a major new investment ... to continue safeguarding the Great Lakes for generations to come.”"
John Flesher reports for the Associated Press March 25, 2023.
