Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, Scott Simms, announced yesterday that the Mi’kmaq Alsumk Mowimsikik Koqoey Association (MAMKA) will receive $404,100 over two years for a project to help protect the marine ecosystem in Conne River, Newfoundland and Labrador.
Earlier this year, the Government of Canada announced the $75 million Coastal Restoration Fund to help rehabilitate some of its most important coastline and protect marine life and ecosystems. The Fund is part of the national $1.5 billion Oceans Protection Plan, a historic investment that will help protect the oceans and marine resources for generations to come.
With a $235,000 investment from the Miawpukek First Nation and $404,100 from the Coastal Restoration Fund, this project will total $639,100. It will stabilize the area within the Miawpukek Reserve known as the McDonald’s Family and Culture Area, on the banks of the Conne River, which has been severely eroded by extreme weather conditions and a lack of total ice cover in winter.
Scott Simms, Member of Parliament for Coast of Bays-Central-Notre Dame: “ Mi’kmaq Alsumk Mowimsikik Koqoey Association is very pleased to receive funding support from DFO’s Coastal Restoration Fund to stabilize the clay bank area at Miawpukek. ”
The Coastal Restoration Fund supports projects that contribute to coastal restoration on all of Canada’s coasts. Preference is given to projects that are multi-year and involve a broad number of partners that include Indigenous groups.