More work needs to be done on Seal River

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/03/2025 (202 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba Lodges and Outfitters Association (MLOA) has received the feasibility study from the Seal River Watershed Alliance (SRWA) for their proposed Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area (IPCA). It answers little and raises several critical questions.

Why was the study not conducted by an impartial third party? Instead, the study was conducted by the actual organization requesting the IPCA and being funded by the federal government to advocate for it.

This proposal affects eight per cent of the province’s land mass.

With a proposal as monumental as this, we would think the feasibility study would be conducted in a fair and impartial manner by a designated neutral third party.

As well, the input-gathering process prior to the feasibility had only 1,427 respondents and was poorly publicized. Manitoba has almost 1.5 million residents. Only a 10th of one per cent of the Manitoba population voiced their opinions. How can that be enough data to form an actual consensus from the Manitoba public?

By comparison, the Manitoba Wildlife Federation just participated in 19 town hall meetings addressing this and other similar matters and those meetings attracted close to 3,000 Manitoba residents. The feedback from those meetings was the attendees were not in favour of this proposal and others. Based on that, the negative feedback outweighs the positive highlighted by the study.

The SRWA organization has received over $2.4 million of federal funding from Parks Canada and other government organizations to organize and promote this proposal. Manitoba organizations asking for further studies and raising questions have received zero government funding, all efforts are funded by Manitoba residents.

To conduct a true appraisal of the costs and ramifications of establishing the IPCA, would not a comprehensive study of the impacts and costs be needed first by the organization conducting the feasibility study?

There are no black and white facts or figures cited here in determining viability. What will the annual cost and overall cost be to Canadian residents to cover the proposed IPCA? The lodges in the SRWA and potentially affected by the IPCA were only involved in cursory, introductory meetings with Parks Canada and Manitoba Parks, none more than an hour long, with no details provided.

Since then, there have been no discussions between the lodges and the SRWA. The SRWA conducted the feasibility study without providing any specific details as to how the lodges will fit into the proposed IPCA and what protections and considerations they may receive, despite several requests for specific further details.

The SRWA has commented that the lodges and outfitters in this area bring $11 million a year into the province. The actual number, when factored with the economic multiplier, would be many times higher.

Tourism supplied by these lodges is the largest economic driver in the Seal River Watershed area. Any damage to the current tourism industry in the watershed area would have far-reaching implications beyond loss of many local jobs, including negatively affecting many businesses in Winnipeg and Thompson and air and hotel connections both into Winnipeg and Thompson.

We will also note some lodge owners have written letters months ago to Kinew and Municipal and Northern Relations Minister Ian Bushie expressing their concerns and received no response. Intended or not, this raises suspicions about whether the current provincial government values our industry, the economic benefits it delivers to Manitoba, and if they will ensure it is safeguarded in situations like this.

The proposed area already has strong protections in place. What additional protections would this proposed IPCA add to what already exists? The migratory caribou herd that is fundamental to this area has actually increased in size, to a healthy 290,000 animals. Millions of dollars of federal government money are being poured into this cause through organizations like CPAWS, Ducks Unlimited and others.

Why is the federal government so strongly and directly involved in pushing this proposal? Should not all Manitoban residents and stakeholders be discussing and deciding this issue? Please note all the lodges in the area had to go through exhaustive consultations with the province and local First Nations before being approved for licensing.

Establishment of this IPCA will put eight per cent of Manitoba’s land mass under control of unelected bureaucrats and representatives who will not have to answer to the Manitoba public. There will be no accountability to the taxpayers funding this venture once it is passed. The federal government has proposed 62 of these areas be established across Canada. These proposals are in line with the 30/30 agreement former prime minister Justin Trudeau signed with the UN and would remove 30 per cent of the Canadian land mass from the accountability of elected officials and place it in the hands of unaccountable bureaucrats.

We support the Indigenous Peoples of the Seal River area, their right to have a strong voice in relation to their traditional lands and their desire to protect it. But we believe this proposal is being rushed by the current federal and provincial governments and much more substantive discussions need to occur before a direction or format can be decided.

The last IPCA approved in Canada took over 12 years to negotiate. Proper due diligence will ensure any preservation proposal can be constructed to ensure all Manitoba’s rights are safeguarded, the economic stakeholders in the area protected and the goal of preserving this unique area achieved.

Don Lamont is executive director of the Manitoba Lodges and Outfitters Association.