The Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition (RLSC) today released a major new report, “Protect Our Plan: From Good Goals to Practical Progress”, calling for urgent, coordinated action to revitalize the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan (LSPP).
The report finds that while recent infrastructure investments show promise, fragmented oversight and reduced federal funding are stalling progress—and rising chloride, invasive species and phosphorus pollution continue to pressure the watershed.
“Recent investments—like the phosphorus reduction facility in Bradford—prove what’s possible when governments collaborate,” said Jonathan Scott, Executive Director of the Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition. “But without a coordinated plan to scale best practices across the watershed, good projects remain isolated wins. This report lays out practical steps to align funding, science, regulation, transit, housing and municipal delivery so we can rescue Lake Simcoe.”
RLSC’s report recommends thirteen ready-to-implement actions, including:
- Ensure a dedicated Lake Simcoe stream under the federal Freshwater Action Plan with transparent, performance-based funding.
- Modernize and enforce Ontario’s Phosphorus Reduction Strategy with subwatershed targets, timelines, dashboards, and stable funding for septic inspections and upgrades.
- Launch a standalone, science-based Road Salt Reduction Plan with limited-liability reform tied to winter maintenance contractor training.
- Cut taxes to reward landowners who maintain/restore vegetated buffers along water bodies.
- Scale municipal best practices across the watershed and build a public Lake Simcoe dashboard for open data and accountability.
- Deliver all-day, two-way Regional Express Rail on the Barrie Line, study a Bloomington-to-Keswick extension and add a Pefferlaw stop on the Ontario Northlander; corridor upgrades would replace undersized culverts to reduce flood risk and unlock transit-oriented housing within existing boundaries to enable compact, climate-ready housing in serviced areas to grow up, not out.
- Protect and strengthen Conservation Authority governance and avoid consolidation that could dilute Lake Simcoe’s dedicated focus.
“We know what works—stormwater retrofits, low-impact development, wetland restoration, smarter winter maintenance—because municipalities are doing it,” Scott added. “Now we need senior governments to match that leadership with sustained funding, science capacity and clear rules so good projects become the norm, not the exception.”
Media Contact
Jonathan Scott, Executive Director
Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition
jonathan@rescuelakesimcoe.org • 647-998-8461