No middle ground for halting zebra mussels

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/04/2024 (564 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The zebra mussel is a small, prolific and pernicious invasive species, and the Manitoba government has spent a tremendous amount of time and money trying to keep it at bay.

Now, though, the narrative seems to have changed, and pragmatism seems to be the reason why.

Parks Canada detected zebra mussels in the popular Clear Lake in Riding Mountain National Park last year, and the federal agency is both trying to find the extent of the problem and come up with possible solutions.

No final decision has been made yet, but Parks Canada has told business owners that it may be necessary to ban boats to reduce the possibility of the mussels spreading through the lake.

It’s a suggestion that does not sit well with some park users, or with the provincial government.

“Clear Lake is a really, really important site for our province, and it’s a hugely popular summertime destination,” Premier Wab Kinew told CBC. “We’re concerned that the federal government appears to have taken a unilateral decision here, so we’re making the case to them to hold off and to keep Clear Lake open.”

Clear Lake is in a national park. And, the thing is, in national parks, the federal government, through the federal minister responsible for national parks, actually does get to make unilateral decisions.

There may be consultation, but the actions involved are federal ones.

Anyone who has spent time in a national park may be familiar with the clear federal responsibility: speed limits are set by Parks Canada, though highway speeds are a provincial responsibility in other parts of Canadian provinces. In-park rules and regulations around park attendance and fees are also set by Parks Canada. While recreational fishing rules may be set by provinces, inside national parks, the federal government often sets its own requirements.

And national parks represent a different realm of responsibility.

The premier may have a variety of different interests to juggle in this particular situation, everything from local business concerns to public opinion.

The federal minister does not.

The Canada National Parks Act, which is federal legislation, is clear that, “maintenance or restoration of ecological integrity, through the protection of natural resources and natural processes, shall be the first priority of the minister when considering all aspects of the management of parks.”

The first priority. Not the only one, certainly, but the first one. With the well-known damage wrought by zebra mussels in other Canadian jurisdictions, taking decisive action now may be the only way to protect Clear Lake before it is too late.

There is a point of no return, and with zebra mussels, it comes quickly.

As the Parks Canada website points out, “A potential infestation of zebra mussels in Clear Lake presents a real threat of significant and irreversible ecological damage to the lake and downstream waterbodies.”

Key words there? Significant and irreversible.

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Far too often, we look at decisions made for the good of future generations, especially environmental decisions, through the lens of “but how does it affect me?” We seem to forget that, when it’s time to pay the environmental piper, we’ll all be paying, regardless of our stature or position.

This is, in its own way, an inflection point, a clear example where we can choose to lean into environmental protection, or decide that such protection is secondary to other interests.

And think about it this way: provincial premiers across the country love to complain about the federal government intruding into their jurisdictions. Why is the provincial government keen on intruding into federal jurisdiction?

Zebra mussels in Clear Lake are an imminent threat to that water system. Half measures will not solve the problem.

This genie does not go back into the bottle.