by Chris Heald
Published Feb 22, 2025, • Winnipeg Sun
The Manitoba Wildlife Federation (MWF) would like to address some issues raised in the story published by the Winnipeg Sun on Feb. 18, “Not planning to wrest control of land, just to ensure it’s protected – CPAWS”.
The MWF would like to start by saying we have always had a deep admiration for Chief David Crate of Fisher River First Nation (Fisher River) and his team, notably the leadership they have shown working with the MWF and others on the sustainability of the Lake Winnipeg fishery. We commend them for their advocacy work, particularly with the provincial government, promoting eco-certification for our shared fisheries resource. This is how conservation should be done.
The MWF firmly believes that Fisher River’s efforts regarding land conservation are also motivated by the best of intentions. Unfortunately, their chosen partner, The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), funded by taxpayers, is a huge advocate of the federal government’s United Nations-inspired 30 x 30 initiative (protect 30% of Canada’s Lands by 2030 and 50% by 2050).
CPAWS recently hosted an information session on a proposed large area conservation initiative for the Central Interlake Region, known as the Fisher River Conservation Areas Initiative. This proposed protected area is being managed and promoted by CPAWS as a joint venture between CPAWS and the Fisher River Cree Nation, Kinonjeoshtegon First Nation, and Peguis First Nation.
MWF staff attended the open house to gather information and to educate ourselves about the proposal. The approximately 150 people who attended were Manitobans from all walks of life including hunters, cottage owners, commercial fisherman, farmers, ranchers, union representatives, municipal officials, industry, and local landowners.
While listening to the lively discussion, we quickly concluded that the vast majority of the attendees were adamantly opposed to the proposal as presented. Some of the very justified questions raised by the attendees included:
- Why are federally funded environmental activists leading an initiative that could directly impact thousands of Manitoba residents, and large areas of Manitoba Crown lands and natural resources?
- Why is the province not taking the lead when it is clearly their legal responsibility to manage our natural resources and preserve access for all Manitobans to our public lands?
- What exactly are we protecting the region from?
- Why would we contemplate changing to the legal designations of Wildlife Management Areas, when they are already protected and publicly accessible to all Manitobans?
- Why create another provincial park right next to Hecla Island and Grindstone Provincial Parks in the absence of any identified threats and when our existing parks are chronically underfunded and in desperate need of investment and proper management?
- What science-based work was undertaken by CPAWS in identifying priority areas for this protection plan?
- How do private landowners and those who currently access provincial Crown land for farming, ranching, outfitting, hunting, trapping and cottaging stand to be affected by these changes?
None of these questions were answered by the CPAWS staff who hosted the meeting. The most concerning statement from CPAWS was their assertion that all provincial Crown lands are treaty lands. To be clear, the MWF firmly believes that Crown lands belong to all Manitobans, and all Manitobans must retain equal access to them.
Since this meeting, the MWF has been criticized by CPAWS for asking important questions surrounding protected areas initiatives. The MWF and all Manitobans have the right to demand answers from the province to questions that relate to the future of our public resources. Future generations of Manitobans will rely on us as a society to get this one right.
The main question we must ask ourselves is: What exactly are we protecting our provincial Crown lands from? Over 70% of Manitoba is comprised of Crown lands which are already well protected. Nobody can build a cabin, drill a well, drain a wetland, build a highway, cut trees, mine minerals or build a transmission line without government’s approval.
These approvals don’t come easy, and elaborate regulatory protections are in place, including independent reviews by the Clean Environment Commission. Most importantly, all decisions must ultimately be signed off by democratically elected Cabinet Ministers.
Furthermore, as Manitobans who enjoy access to public lands for cottaging, hiking, camping, angling, and hunting, we are concerned that this initiative is being led by CPAWS, an organization dedicated to excluding access to ‘protected’ areas and advocating for them to be managed by unelected boards and bureaucracies. We have seen that movie before, and it ends badly for those who use and enjoy our public spaces in a sustainable manner.
Manitobans must maintain the ability to hold elected officials accountable on how they manage our public resources, and we simply cannot turn these decisions over to advocacy groups with an agenda, federal bureaucrats, or unelected officials.
Thankfully, even though we disagree with the direction this project is taking, the MWF and Fisher River Cree Nation have agreed to meet as soon as possible. They will look at ways of collaborating on made-in-Manitoba solutions to many of the shared concerns we have around conservation of our province’s lands and resources and the lifestyles we both cherish.
