OTTAWA, ONTARIO, November
21, 2007- The Government of Canada has taken
yet another major step to protect and conserve
Canada's north by announcing the withdrawal
of over 10 million hectares of land, one
of the largest land conservation initiatives
in Canadian history near the East Arm of
Great Slave Lake, and around the Ramparts
River and Wetlands, both in the Northwest
Territories.
"Conservation is a top priority for
our government. In January, I made a number
of commitments and we are delivering,"
said the Honourable John Baird, Minister
of the Environment. "Our Government
believes that our actions speak louder than
words. In just the last 12 months, we have
delivered real action on conservation. We
are doing even more by withdrawing massive
areas from industrial development to protect
some of the most impressive ecological and
cultural wonders in the North for generations
to come."
The interim land withdrawals announced
today by Minister Baird and the Honourable
Chuck Strahl, Minister of Indian Affairs
and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor
for Métis and Non-Status Indians
are a major step forward towards creating
a national park in the East Arm of Great
Slave Lake and a national wildlife area
for the Ramparts River and Wetlands (Ts'ude
niline Tu'eyeta). The Government is also
pleased to announce an Interim Land Withdrawal
to protect approximately 62,000 square kilometers
with the Akaitcho Dene First Nations from
the allowance of mineral staking, sale or
lease during the course of negotiations.
"Our government is fully committed
to the North and we will continue to work
with the three territories in order to improve
opportunities and help meet the needs of
northerners," said Minister Strahl.
"Canada's negotiation team has worked
with the Akaitcho and the Government of
the Northwest Territories to reach this
important milestone in the Akaitcho process.
I commend the hard work of all the parties."
The anouncement was made during a celebration
with Chiefs of the Akaitcho Dene First Nations,
the Chief of Fort Good Hope (K'asho Got'ine)
and representatives of the Northwest Territory
Métis Nation.
"It is with great happiness and honour
for the Lutsel K'e Denesuline to have the
area recognized as an area to be protected,"
said Chief Adeline Jonasson of the Lutsel
K'e Dene First Nation, near the East Arm
of Great Slave lake. "The area is of
importance to the Lutsel K'e Dene for their
physical and spiritual well-being ... the
place where our ancestors chose for us to
live centuries ago. We give thanks to the
Creator for the land, water and wildlife
and to all the support we received for this
important milestone."
"Ts'ude niline Tu'eyeta is important
to us and the Northwest Territories,"
said Chief Frank T'seleie of the K'asho
Cot'ine Charter Community Council. "I
congratulate the Government of Canada for
its commitment to working with various partners
and the Territory to obtain legislated protection
as a National Wildlife Area enabling the
protection of important wildlife habitat."
Also in attendance at the celebration at
the Canadian Museum of Nature were representatives
from national environmental stakeholders,
including the Canadian Boreal Initiative,
The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society,
Ducks Unlimited and the World Wildlife Fund.
"The Government of Canada and First
Nations deserve tremendous credit for their
innovation, vision and commitment,"
said Larry Innes, Executive Director of
the Canadian Boreal Initiative, an organization
dedicated to the conservation and sustainable
development of the Boreal Forest. "Canada
is taking the lead internationally when
it comes to making balanced decisions about
protecting and preserving land for future
generations."
Today's announcement once again shows the
Government's commitment to an integrated
Northern Strategy focused on strengthening
Canada's sovereignty, protecting our environmental
heritage, promoting economic and social
development, and improving and devolving
governance. Today's announcement supports
environmental protection efforts, as well
as efforts to ensure that northerners have
greater control over their destinies, as
a result of Aboriginal land claims and self-government
negotiations.
"All total, today's announcement by
the federal government amounts to the largest
land withdrawal for interim protection in
Canadian history," said Lorne Johnson,
Ottawa Bureau Director, WWF-Canada. "This
is a great example of sequencing conservation
first, up front in the development process,
while we still have a chance to protect
the North's lands and waters."
In the last year alone, the Government
of Canada has committed to:
• a massive expansion of the Nahanni National
Park Reserve;
• creation of the Lake Superior National
Marine Conservation Area;
• $30 million to protect the Great Bear
Rainforest in British Columbia;
• $3 million to the restoration of Stanley
Park in Vancouver and Point Pleasant Park
in Halifax;
• $225 million for the Nature Conservancy
of Canada to preserve and conserve up to
half a million acres of land across the
country;
• $5 million to protect the Sahoyúé
§ehdacho National Historic Site on
the shores of Great Bear Lake, the largest
lake in Canada.
"Today's announcement, together with
federal commitments earlier this year to
massively expand the NWT's Nahanni National
Park and protect Sahoyúé §ehdacho
National Historic Site, represent historic
progress towards conserving Canada's northern
ecosystems. CPAWS is proud to have worked
on this for many years with First Nations,
other governments and partner conservation
organizations and we look forward to continuing
this important work while the opportunity
still exists," says Anne Levesque,
National Executive Director of the Canadian
Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS).
The Government will be also providing $3
million for a study to assess the feasibility
of establishing a national park in the vicinity
of the East Arm of Great Slave Lake and
$830,000 over five years to establish the
Ramparts River and Wetlands National Wildlife
Area.
Shannon Haszard, NWT Regional Manager for
Ducks Unlimited Canada, stated "We'd
like to especially congratulate the Fort
Good Hope Dene and Métis and the
Akaitcho First Nations for taking the initiative
to protect these areas. It is great to see
the communities achieve their wish to protect
important sacred places and lands that countless
generations have used for hunting, trapping,
fishing and spiritual renewal."
Eric Richer
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of the Environment
+ More
Canada's Environment Minister Meets with
Indonesian Special Envoy on Climate Change
Ottawa, November 22, 2007 - Canada 's Environment
Minister John Baird, met earlier today with
the Indonesian Special Envoy for Climate
Change,Ambassador Soemadi Brotodiningrat,
to discuss key issues at the upcoming United
Nations Conference on Climate Change. Indonesia
is the host country of the conference.
"I appreciate the Ambassador travelling
to Ottawa to discuss the upcoming conference,
and confirmed to him Canada's belief that
any future agreement must involve binding
commitments for all major greenhouse gas-emitting
countries," Minister Baird said. "We
also discussed Canada's plan for tackling
climate change, because we believe our integrated
and balanced actions to address cleaner
air and climate change can be adapted by
other countries to help them meet their
own national objectives."
The United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change will begin two weeks of
meetings on December 3, 2007 in Indonesia,
the focus of which will be a process to
negotiate a new international climate change
agreement for post-2012.
"I am pleased to have this opportunity
to meet with Canada's Environment Minister
to discuss the upcoming United Nations climate
change conference," said Ambassador
Soemadi. "As host, Indonesia is meeting
prior to the conference with a number of
key countries who are involved in the international
effort to address climate change. Canada
is certainly an important partner in that
effort."
Ambassador Soemadi was recently appointed
by the Government of Indonesia as that country's
Special Envoy for Climate Change. He is
currently meeting with a select group of
Environment Ministers to discuss their respective
countries' objectives and the possible outcomes
of the international meeting.
"The importance of concerted international
action can not be under-estimated,"
Minister Baird noted. "We intend to
participate constructively in the negotiations
toward a post-2012 agreement and both the
Ambassador and I look forward to a successful
conference that will help define global
solutions to a global challenge."
Eric Richer
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of the Environment
