Manitoba and Canada are exploring the potential establishment of a new national marine park along Manitoba’s Hudson Bay coast. During a recent announcement in Churchill, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew disclosed the allocation of $250,000 in provincial funding for a study to assess the feasibility of creating a new national marine conservation area.
Federal Northern and Arctic Affairs Minister Rebecca Chartrand mentioned that the federal government will bear the majority of the study costs, which will be carried out in collaboration with Indigenous communities. These national marine conservation areas are federally protected regions of freshwater or marine coastlines, spanning from the seabed to the water surface, often including islands, estuaries, and coastal wetlands.
Managed by Parks Canada, these conservation areas aim to represent the diverse marine ecosystems of the nation, mirroring how national parks showcase terrestrial ecosystems. Presently, there exist five national marine conservation areas in Canada, including those in Nunavut’s Lancaster Sound, British Columbia’s Haida Gwaii, Quebec’s St. Lawrence Seaway, and the Ontario waters of Lake Superior and Lake Huron.
The federal government has a goal to establish 10 more marine conservation areas by 2030. Among the six potential new marine conservation areas identified by Parks Canada is one encompassing the coastlines of Hudson Bay and James Bay in Ontario, adjacent to Manitoba’s coast.
Various environmental organizations, such as the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society and Oceans North, have urged the government to designate a marine conservation area in Manitoba covering parts or all of the Hudson Bay coastline between Nunavut and Ontario borders. This designation could safeguard a significant portion of the world’s beluga whale habitat, as stated by Oceans North’s vice-president, Chris Debicki.
Supporting a marine conservation area could help address concerns raised by critics of Premier Kinew’s exploration of oil or natural gas transportation through the Port of Churchill in Hudson Bay. Kinew emphasized that economic development and environmental protection can coexist, pledging to safeguard the waters while pursuing commercial activities.
Eric Reder from the Wilderness Committee of Canada expressed backing for a new marine conservation area and enhanced development at the Port of Churchill. However, he vowed to oppose any plans involving the transportation of oil and gas through sub-Arctic waters, emphasizing a strong and prolonged resistance against such initiatives.
Parks Canada underscores that commerce and marine conservation areas can coexist harmoniously, with designated zones allowing certain commercial activities and others serving as ecological preserves with restricted boat traffic. In all new national marine conservation areas, Parks Canada prohibits four industrial activities: seabed mining, dumping and bottom trawling, and oil and gas exploration.