Question Period Note: Impact of Climate Change on Parks Canada Places

Impact of Climate Change on Parks Canada Places

• In managing national parks and historic sites, Parks Canada maintains or restores ecological and commemorative integrity, and provides Canadians with opportunities to discover and enjoy these special places.
• Parks Canada is committed to the protection of cultural heritage and is exploring adaptation measures to manage the effects of climate change and extreme weather on heritage places.
• Canada’s national parks play an important role in helping to mitigate the impacts of climate change by protecting and restoring healthy, resilient ecosystems and contributing to the recovery of species at risk.
• Through the Nature Legacy initiative, Parks Canada is working with partners to improve the connectivity of Canada’s protected areas, providing safe havens for wildlife and helping respond to the impacts of climate change.
HURRICANE DORIAN
• The recent Hurricane Dorian caused extensive damage in Atlantic Canada and Quebec, including to some national parks. Parks Canada is working to rebuild in a way that renders the sites more resilient to future weather events, while providing visitors with safe, meaningful and enjoyable experiences.

• Parks Canada’s heritage places across the country are vulnerable to changes in climate (e.g., temperature, precipitation, extreme weather), physical environment (e.g., sea level, air quality, water quality), biodiversity (e.g., ecosystem processes, species at risk, hyperabundant species, invasive species) and habitat loss.
• Climate change impacts the timing, intensity and frequency of naturally occurring phenomena such as wildfires, floods, avalanches, landslides, hurricanes, storm surges, blizzards and hail. Such events have the potential to affect both natural and cultural heritage resources under Parks Canada’s responsibility, and the Agency’s operations.
• Given the potential magnitude and diversity of climate change impacts on Parks Canada’s heritage places across the country, the Agency is working to improve understanding of current and future climate change impacts, and to enhance its ability to adapt through a variety of initiatives:
o Agency experts are co-leading two working groups that include federal, provincial and territorial managers, as well as Indigenous, industry and academic partners, to develop and share knowledge and best practices for heritage place stewardship in the context of climate change.
o Parks Canada developed an adaptation framework for parks and protected areas for use by our managers as well as by other federal, provincial and territorial agencies.
o Parks Canada is developing a carbon atlas to assess and map carbon stocks and carbon fluxes within the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems of Canada’s national parks and national marine conservation areas.
o The Agency produced a series of regional and site-specific reports summarizing the evolution of climate conditions at heritage places and the potential impacts that forecasted changes may cause.
HURRICANE DORIAN
• Hurricane Dorian made landfall at the Abaco Islands in the Bahamas on September 1, 2019, with the highest winds of an Atlantic hurricane recorded.
• The storm reached Atlantic Canada and parts of Quebec September 6 and 7, 2019, resulting in damage to Fundy National Park in New Brunswick; Cape Breton Highlands National Park and Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site in Nova Scotia; Prince Edward Island National Park in Prince Edward Island and Forillon National Park and Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve in Quebec.
• Damage to sites ranged from blocked roads to damage to campgrounds, boardwalks and trails. Prince Edward Island National Park experienced significant impact in the western sector of the Cavendish area of the park, with a 2-metre loss of shoreline and with 80% of the trees having fallen or deemed dangerous.
• In all parks affected, priority was given to ensuring public safety, and work has now turned to fully assessing the damage, developing estimates, and planning for repair. The summer operating season has ended for the parks, and all national parks impacted are expected to be open for the spring 2020 operating season, although there may be ongoing repairs.

Question Period notes as provided by the Department to the Minister’s Office