Last week, Member of Parliament for Vaudreuil-Soulanges, Peter Schiefke, announced a federal investment of $325,000 to protect 63 hectares of Mont Rigaud.
“Our government’s strong commitment to the preservation of our green spaces and the protection of biodiversity is a commitment to future generations. We believe firmly that our kids and grandkids should be able to enjoy and benefit from Canada’s natural beauty, and that includes the incredible gifts nature provides to us here in Vaudreuil-Soulanges. Today’s $325,000 investment in the Rigaud Mountain is a testament to this and is part of an incredible legacy that all members of our community of Vaudreuil-Soulanges can be proud of for generations to come,” said Schiefke.
The funds offered to the not-for-profit organization Nature-Action Québec (NAQ), were made possible thanks to the Canada Nature Fund’s “Quick Start” component. In addition to supporting NAQ’s relentless nature conservation efforts and ensuring the preservation of Vaudreuil-Soulanges’ pristine environment, the investment will establish natural links or corridors between core conservation areas and build buffer zones around these natural areas.
With the help of the Federal Government’s funding of $325,000, NAQ was able to acquire 6 properties in Southern Québec. On Mont Rigaud, the acquisitions amount to 63 hectares of new conservation areas, which is the equivalent of roughly 100 football fields.
This investment builds on previous significant measures and investments aiming to protect and strengthen Mont Rigaud’s exquisite nature. Indeed, the acquisitions fall within a comprehensive approach by the city of Rigaud and the MRC of Vaudreuil-Soulanges to protect natural sites and biodiversity on the mountain. Before today’s investment, Nature-Action Québec and the city of Rigaud had previously protected 110.5 hectares of areas with a rich biodiversity on Mont Rigaud through the Réserve naturelle de la Montagne-de-Rigaud.
ABOUT NATURE-ACTION QUÉBEC
Nature-Action Québec is a not-for-profit organization which has been working to protect our environment for over 30 years. NAQ now represents one of the most prominent environmental project management organizations in Québec. Further, NAQ aims to guide citizens and other organizations in the implementation of best practices pertaining to environmental stewardship.
ABOUT THE CANADA NATURE FUND
The new Canada Nature Fund has been designed to motivate and support the efforts of Canadians whose participation is critical to achieving success in nature conservation. It will support a new approach to the conservation of biodiversity through targeted federal investments that enhance collaboration and partnership on protected and conserved areas and species at risk. The Canada Nature Fund will provide federal funding of $500 million over five years. Through leveraged partnership support from foundations, provinces, territories, the corporate and not-for-profit sectors, and others, it is anticipated that at least $1 billion will be raised for conservation action. The Canada Nature Fund will make it possible to establish protected and conserved areas, secure private land, and support terrestrial- and aquatic-species protection efforts by provinces, territories, Indigenous Peoples, and stakeholders.
MORE ON THE “QUICK START” COMPONENT OF THE NATURE FUND
The Canada Nature Fund has two streams: Spaces and Species. The Spaces stream provides close to $300 million over five years toward increasing the protected and conserved areas in Canada, their connectivity, and their ecological integrity to contribute to Canada’s Target 1 commitments of conserving at least 17 percent of Canada’s terrestrial and inland water and 10 percent of Canada’s marine and coastal areas through networks of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, by 2020.
The Spaces stream is phased for rapid roll-out. The first focus is a Quick Start component to advance nearly ready projects and support capacity to help build momentum toward achieving Canada’s biodiversity targets. This is the component through which Nature-Action Québec received the federal funding of $325,000.
