Legislation will finalize the establishment of Akami-Uapishkᵁ-KakKasuak-Mealy Mountains National Park Reserve and Tallurutiup Imanga National Marine Conservation Area, and formally update the boundaries of seven national parks and one national park reserve
Canada's national parks are the crown jewels in a country blessed with breathtaking natural landscapes. But this network of protected areas in Canada also plays an important role in helping to address the impacts of climate change by protecting and restoring healthy, resilient ecosystems and contributing to the survival and recovery of species at risk.
Today, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, announced the tabling of legislation which will increase the amount of land protected under Parks Canada legislation.
The legislation will finalize the establishment of Akami-Uapishkᵁ-KakKasuak-Mealy Mountains National Park Reserve in Labrador while permitting and regulating traditional land use activities in this national park reserve and finalize the establishment of Tallurutiup Imanga National Marine Conservation Area in Nunavut, upon completion of its interim management plan. It will also formally update the boundaries of seven national parks and one national park reserve, to include lands added to national parks over the past decades, from iconic dunes along the Atlantic, to one of Canada's most northern islands and ecologically important grasslands.
While these lands are already managed or under the administration of Parks Canada, this legislation will ensure that they are added to the Canada National Parks Act and the Canada National Marine Conservation Areas Act and can receive the full protections of the Acts and their associated regulations. In total, this will represent an increase of 12,085,851 hectares protected under these Acts, a land mass slightly smaller than the combined area of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
The legislation also includes six amendments that will align the Canada National Parks Act and the Rouge National Urban Park Act with the modern legislative environment, and strengthen the tools used to operate and manage Parks Canada's network of protected areas.
