Brampton North MPP Graham McGregor along with Wards 2&6 Regional Councillors Navjit Kaur Brar and Michael Palleschi will be hosting what is being billed as a “huge” announcement on Monday March 4th, 12:45pm at Loafer’s Lake Park situated in central north Brampton. Ontario’s Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks, Andrea Khanjin, will be in attendance along with local community organizations, conservation authorities and businesses. Interested members of the public are welcome to attend.

While no details are yet available, it’s expected the announcement will involve major restoration work along the shoreline of Loafer’s Lake and sections of the adjacent Etobicoke Creek trail with the intent to improve habitat for endangered species especially snapping turtles. Snapping turtles look prehistoric. They are omnivorous. Approximately 90% of their diet consists of dead or decaying plant and animal material. They play an important role keeping Ontario’s water bodies clean.

While common in many of Ontario’s lakes and streams, according to Ontario Nature, snapping turtles are listed as Special Concern under both the Ontario Endangered Species Act, 2007 and the federal Species at Risk Act. This means that their population could decline because of a combination of biological characteristics and identified threats. Snapping turtles do not begin to breed until they are 15-20 years old. Turtle nests are often predated by animals such as racoons. The mortality rate of hatchlings is extremely high. And climate change is affecting the number of female hatchlings as higher temperatures mean the eggs are more likely to hatch as males than females.

A year ago, almost to the day, then Environment Minister, Dave Piccini announced a nearly $75,000 grant to fund habitat improvements along the shoreline of Loafer’s Lake. It was quickly realized, however, that much more funding would be required to make a difference.. Hopefully Monday’s announcement will be enough to allow construction work to begin.