The Parks Canada Agency Act calls on the Minister to seek input on the matters for which Parks Canada is responsible, and historically, these Minister Round Tables have been closed off to the opinions of the general public. Until now.
For the first time ever, all Canadians are being asked to provide feedback to Parks Canada. This is a vital opportunity to share your views directly with the Minister about the importance of protecting the nature in our national parks, about placing the needs of our wildlife and wild places ahead of the wants of the tourism industry, and the value of Parks Canada working with our indigenous communities.
Our National Parks can be wonderful places to visit, but especially in heavily-trafficked parks like Banff and the mountain parks, they must be managed for conservation first. Ecological integrity must be our first priority.
Of course, in order to manage our parks for conservation, we must reinvest in science and monitoring to make evidence-based decisions. We need to expand our national parks system, not only to ensure protection of representation for all of Canada’s natural regions, but also with an eye to landscape connectivity for key species like grizzly bears and wolverines. Parks can’t be islands.
And Parks Canada must work with our indigenous communities to co-manage parks in their traditional territories.
You only have until January 27th, 2017 to make your voice heard, so please join us today in sending a message to Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment, to help protect the legacy of Canada’s National Parks for years to come.
You can read more about the consultation at letstalkparkscanada.ca
Photo Credit: Brian Hay