Question Period Note: Expanding Parks Canada’s Network of Protected Areas

Expanding Parks Canada’s Network of Protected Areas

• The Government of Canada is committed to expanding Canada’s network of protected and conserved areas while helping to advance reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.
• Canada is committed to protecting biodiversity and conserving at least 17 percent of land and inland waters, and has surpassed its commitment to protect 10 per cent of coastal and marine waters by 2020.
• Recent accomplishments include the establishment of Thaidene Nene National Park Reserve (Canada’s 47th national park), Tallurutiup Imanga National Marine Conservation Area (Canada’s largest protected area), and important milestones towards the completion of Rouge National Urban Park (now almost 95% complete).
• Parks Canada is working with Indigenous governments and communities, provincial and territorial governments, and stakeholders to establish national marine conservation areas.

• The Government of Canada is committed to expanding our system of protected areas and protecting Canada’s biodiversity. Previous federal budgets have provided funding for Parks Canada to continue its work to expand the system of national protected areas.
• Budget 2016 provided $42.4 million to Parks Canada to continue work on creating new national parks and national marine conservation areas.
• Parks Canada’s approach to creating new protected areas is grounded in science, Indigenous knowledge and collaboration with provincial and territorial governments, as well as Indigenous governments and communities. Stakeholder and public consultation is an essential element in the establishment process.

NATIONAL PARKS
• On July 2, 2019, the Government of Canada and British Columbia and the Syilx / Okanagan Nation launched negotiations towards the establishment of a national park reserve in the South Okanagan–Similkameen—an area home to one of the most endangered ecosystems in Canada.
• On August 14, 2019, the Governments of Canada and Prince Edward Island and the Mi’kmaq Confederacy of PEI launched a feasibility assessment for a new national park reserve in the Hog Island Sandhills chain in northwestern Prince Edward Island, to protect one of the most significant coastal dune ecosystems in eastern Canada.
• Canada’s 47th national park—Thaidene Nene National Park Reserve—was protected under the Canada National Parks Act on September 4, 2019, with the leadership and support of the Łutsël K'e First Nation, the Northwest Territory Metis Nation and other Indigenous governments.

NATIONAL MARINE CONSERVATION AREAS
• On June 27, 2019, the Government of Canada and the Cree Nation Government launched a feasibility assessment for the establishment of a national marine conservation area in Eastern James Bay, within the Eeyou Marine Region.
• On June 27, 2019, the Governments of Canada and Quebec launched a joint feasibility study to evaluate the potential for creating a marine protected area in Îles-de-la-Madeleine.
• On August 1, 2019, the Government of Canada and the Qikiqtani Inuit Association announced the signing of an Inuit Impact and Benefit Agreement for the establishment of Tallurutiup Imanga National Marine Conservation Area, Canada’s largest protected area, over 108,000 square kilometres in size. The Inuit Impact and Benefit Agreement would also cover the requirements for the establishment of any protected areas in Tuvaijuittuq (Canada’s High Arctic Basin).
• On September 6, 2019, the Government of Canada and the Nunatsiavut Government launched of a feasibility assessment to consider the establishment of an Indigenous protected area under the Canada National Marine Conservation Areas Act, which would be adjacent to Torngat Mountains National Park in northern Labrador.

NATIONAL URBAN PARK
• In June 2019, the Toronto Region Conservation Authority transferred 18.5 km2 of lands to Parks Canada to become part of the Rouge National Urban Park, officially making it one of the largest urban parks of its kind in North America. Parks Canada now directly manages 94.7 per cent of lands identified for Rouge National Urban Park, with the remaining land transfers from neighbouring jurisdictions expected to take place in the coming year.

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