Introduction

NEW NATIONAL PARKS AND ABORIGINAL PEOPLE

Many of the natural regions not yet represented in the national park system are in the Northwest Territories or in remote parts of the provinces. These are often areas in which Aboriginal people continue to rely on natural resources and in which native cultures reflect a close relationship to the land. While new national parks are a good way to protect and present a special place for all Canadians, they can also meet the specific needs of native communities. Parks Canada works closely with Aboriginal communities throughout the process of new park establishment in all cases where Aboriginal interests could be affected. The result is a new type of national park where traditional subsistence resource harvesting by Aboriginal people continues and where cooperative management approaches are designed to reflect Aboriginal rights and regional circumstances.

COMPLETING THE SYSTEM

Establishment of new national parks is becoming increasingly complex and time-consuming. Filling the remaining gaps in the system by the year 2000 is a difficult challenge. Little land exists now in Canada that does not have some kind of interest or commitment for uses such as oil and gas development, mining, hydro-electricity, forestry, agriculture and private recreation. Land-use and jurisdictional conflicts have to be resolved in co-operation with the provinces and territories, and the concerns of local residents have to be addressed. In some natural regions the resolution of comprehensive land claims presents a timely opportunity to create new national parks with the direct involvement of native people.

This report is a key step in charting the course toward the goal of establishing new national parks in Canada's unrepresented natural regions.

Completing the national park system in today's difficult fiscal climate presents special challenges. The Parks Canada Business Plan makes new parks a priority objective and provides a basis for establishing new parks even under these circumstances. The situation calls for the development of innovative, cost-effective approaches to new park establishment. For example, once park agreements are signed, Parks Canada's initial focus will be on ensuring that the lands are protected. Beyond protection, other programs will likely be phased in more slowly than in the past, and funding partners will be sought.

Completion of the national parks system will not be achieved through the actions of the federal government alone. It will require consensus and determination on the part of all Canadians and all levels of government, and a recognition of the important contribution that national parks make toward the quality of our environment and the quality of our lives.

NATURAL REGION MAPS

Note that the 39 natural region maps that follow are at a scale of 1cm = 200 km.