Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Tim's defends camp plan
Would teach kids leadership skills
The Tim Horton Children's Foundation has been in talks with Manitoba Conservation for a year over the construction of an $8-million year-round camp complex near Meditation Lake in the Whiteshell.
David Newnham, foundation vice-president, said the organization was considering a new youth camp in either Saskatchewan or Manitoba, but opted for Manitoba because of the Whiteshell's proximity to a major centre -- Winnipeg -- with an airport and medical facilities.
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Newnham said he recognizes that some people are concerned about the proposal and the secrecy surrounding the project, but the foundation will hold public consultations where complete details on the facility will be released.
"We began to talk to the provincial government at this time last year," Newnham said. "The next step is public consultation for later in April."
The proposal has come under fire from cottagers and an environmental group because of the province's refusal to develop a management plan for its protected areas and because of the secret nature of the talks to date.
Newnham said the site near Meditation Lake was chosen because of its proximity to a no-development zone, which is considered ideal for the wilderness experience the foundation wants to provide.
The foundation operates six other camps for disadvantaged youth in Canada and the U.S., but Newnham said while the other camps target youths between the ages of 9 and 12, the Whiteshell camp would provide leadership training for teens between 13 and 17.
Newnham said the Manitoba program would take youths who have shown promise at its other camps and give them leadership training over five summers.
The Whiteshell camp would consist of several year-round buildings, Newnham said. The camp would accommodate 260 youth and 70 staff. The year-round structures would consist of two sleeping quarters that would accommodate 65 of the youth, a dining hall, a health and wellness unit, a creative arts centre, and a maintenance building.
The other youth would be housed in yurts -- cone-shaped tents built on platforms.
Newnham said the camp would be used exclusively by the foundation during the summer, but local community groups that focus on children would be able to use it during other months.
"We want this to be ... a part of the Whiteshell," Newnham said of the proposed camp.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition March 26, 2009 A9
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