Our Government is Protecting and Improving Canada’s National Parks

July 26, 2021

Ottawa Journal (July 26 – July 30, 2021)
David Tilson, M.P. (Dufferin-Caledon)

From the Rocky Mountains to the vast Canadian Shield, to the green, rolling hills of Atlantic Canada, our country has an abundance of picturesque landscapes for Canadians and visitors from across the world to discover and enjoy. The preservation of Canada’s rich history and natural beauty is a priority for our Government. We were happy to celebrate Canada Parks Day on July 17th and hope that Canadians from every walk of life took the time to visit some of the amazing parks and heritage sites our great country has to offer. In fact, we’re making it easier to do just that.

Thanks to action from our Government, individual travellers will pay 2008 Parks rates until April 1, 2011. For tours and groups, the 2009 rates will be frozen until April 1, 2012. We have also provided every Grade 8 student in Canada with a free parks pass – valid until May 2011. We encourage each and every student to make use of this pass and to learn more about this great land we call home.

These students will be able to visit places such as Nahanni National Park Reserve of Canada. This park is home to the highest mountains and largest glaciers in the Northwest Territories, and the deepest canyons in all of Canada. Our Government has helped protect this area by increasing the size of the park reserve by over six times, making it just over half the size of Nova Scotia.

Our Government is also taking action to protect important marine habitats like the remarkably bio-diverse ecosystem of Gwaii Haanas (Queen Charlotte Islands) in British Columbia, which in combination with the existing land park reserve will protect an area approximately the size of Prince Edward Island.  We also announced the creation of the Lake Superior Marine Conservation Area, which will become the largest freshwater marine protected area in the world. In fact, our Government is expanding the total area covered by Canada’s National Park Reserves by ten per cent.

Our Government is also fixing up existing parks and historic sites, which has helped create jobs for hard-working Canadians.  Canada’s Economic Action Plan provided $25 million in funding to the National Trails Coalition to provide better trails for activities such as walking, running, cross-country skiing, and biking. Our Economic Action Plan is also providing $280 million to Parks Canada which includes $75 million to improve visitor facilities and an additional $75 million for the protection of National Historic Sites.

Canada is filled with breathtaking landscapes and seascapes. Our Government has been taking action since we were first elected in 2006, to help ensure that more of our precious ecosystems are protected. We hope that every Canadian will take time to enjoy our parks year-round and discover some of the wonderful habitats and vistas that Canada has to offer.