Ottawa – The Environmental Damages Fund is a Government of Canada funding program administered by Environment and Climate Change Canada. Built on the premise that environmental good must follow harm, the program provides an effective way of responding to environmental damage by directing funds received from fines, court orders, and voluntary payments from environmental violations, to carry out projects that benefit our natural environment.
The Fund supports projects that help to restore natural resources that are similar to those damaged by the original incident, and are located at or near the location where environmental damage occurred. The most recent round of allocated funding, announced on August 8, 2023, will support 22 projects to be carried out in seven provinces and territories across Canada—five projects in Alberta, one in British Columbia, one in New Brunswick, two in Newfoundland and Labrador, one in Nunavut, five in Ontario, and seven in Quebec.
These projects aim to:
- Provide restoration and management actions for more than 1,029 hectares of habitat.
- Reduce and divert over 30,800 kilograms of toxic or harmful waste.
- Implement environmental quality activities on 772 hectares of habitat.
- Monitor, assess, and direct studies carried out on more than 19 million hectares of habitat.
- Engage over 1,166 participants and 252 partners and provide opportunities for community members, including Indigenous peoples and youth, to increase environmental awareness and capacity.