CPAWS Calls on Federal Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development to Reinstate Protection

CPAWS is calling on the Honourable John Duncan, the new Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, to reinstate full protection for the proposed Edéhzhíe National Wildlife Area - a vast area of the Mackenzie Valley that is ecologically rich and of great cultural importance to local Dene First Nations. This area has been temporarily protected since 2002 to allow communities, governments and stakeholders to work through the process of establishing a protected area.

This temporary protection order was up for renewal by the federal government at the end of October and, in a surprise move, Minister Duncan recommended to Cabinet that only the surface component of the protection order be renewed, resulting in a federal government decision that leaves this precious place open to mineral staking.

As a formal partner in the NWT Protected Areas Strategy and member of the Steering Committee, CPAWS NWT is extremely concerned about this decision, as it is a serious diversion from the agreed-upon Protected Areas Strategy process and a regrettable departure from the years of collaborative work that communities, government, industry and non-government organizations have invested in the Protected Areas Strategy and specifically in protecting Edéhzhíe. CPAWS is calling on the Minister to recommend to Cabinet that the subsurface protection for Edéhzhíe be immediately reinstated.

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Contact

CPAWS Northwest Territories
Kris Brekke, Executive Director
kris@cpaws.org

CPAWS National Office (Ottawa)
Alison Woodley, National Conservation Director
awoodley@cpaws.org