Federal Announcements Tremendous For Canadian National Parks Ecology
From Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS)
October 21, 2000
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA — Initiatives announced today by the Hon. Sheila Copps, Minister of Canadian Heritage, represent a tremendous advance in protecting the ecological integrity of Canada’s National Parks.
“First of all, the new Canada National Parks Act, passed by the Senate on October 18, is one of the most progressive parks laws in the world,” said Stephen Hazell, Executive Director of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS).
“Ecological integrity is now the primary consideration in all aspects of the management of Canada’s National Parks. The new law reflects the direction of the Panel on Ecological Integrity in National Parks in providing for caps on commercial development in parks communities such as Banff, Jasper and Lake Louise. From now on, new park management plans must be tabled in Parliament, and must contain a long-term ecological vision for the park. Ecological integrity objectives and indicators must be developed and considered,” he said.
“Congratulations to Minister Copps, and the Parks Canada Agency staff, who were the driving force behind the legislation,” Hazell said.
“Thanks also to Clifford Lincoln, Chair of the Commons Committee on Canadian Heritage, where strong amendments were produced, and Senator Mira Spivak, Chair of the Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources.”
“CPAWS is looking forward to working toward the implementation of the new law. Meanwhile, congratulations to all CPAWS members and chapters for their hard work, and for all the letters written to government in recent months pushing for a strong National Parks Act. Your work has paid off!”
CPAWS welcomed other announcements released today. “Parks Canada has completed proposed regulations declaring over 90 per cent of the Rocky Mountain parks (Banff, Jasper, Kootenay and Yoho) as wilderness areas. CPAWS is also pleased that the Park Management Plans for Jasper, Waterton Lakes, Yoho and Kootenay National Parks have been released, and seven new parks established,” Hazell said.
Finally, new controls on ski hills in the four mountain parks have been put in place by Minister Copps. These include: ski area capacity limits, to be set within two years; no new ski runs or expansions; and no expansion of parking lot footprints.
Some development issues still need to be resolved in certain parks, according to Hazell, and CPAWS will continue to monitor those carefully. Meanwhile, “today is a day for celebrating enhanced protection of National Parks and their ecological integrity,” said Hazell.
For more information, contact:
Stephen Hazell
Executive Director
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS)
1-800-333-9453
shazell@cpaws.org
Web site: http://www.cpaws.org