Mr. Speaker,
I am delighted to rise this afternoon to highlight the work of community land trusts. Over the past few days, the Alliance of Canadian Land Trusts, a newly formed umbrella network that advocates for local land trusts at the national level, has been holding a summit here in Ottawa. These community-based organizations are at the forefront of local action on conservation and climate change, with programs such as the land trust conservation fund, part of the much larger natural heritage conservation program.
Our government has invested $20 million through these local land trusts. This government investment has been more than doubled, and yes, more than tripled. It was actually quadrupled the money it had raised from private funds. This money has supported over 40 organizations and 116 projects, and it has protected over 13,000 hectares of nature reserves since 2009. The return on the $20 million invested by our government has been phenomenal, due to the work these land trusts have done. The success of our government and country in meeting our environmental goals, both in emissions reduction and biodiversity protection, depends on all of these local land trusts, boards, volunteers and donors. For that, our government joins with me in thanking the new Alliance of Canadian Land Trusts and its member organizations greatly.