| Manitoba Road Study Ignores Protected Lands | 09 June 05 |
 The Manitoba Government has begun a process for routing of a proposed road from north eastern Manitoba to the Kivalliq Region of Nunavut which ignores protected areas the route options would bisect.A May 2005 invitation from Manitoba's Transportation and Government Services to attend a series of meetings regarding the route selection study includes a map depicting three possible options for the road. The government map is general and omits all crown land designations on the landscape, including Wapusk National Park. Manitoba Wildlands has created another map, using Manitoba Transportation and Government Services route information to show the locations of protected areas and the implications of the road options. One of the potential routes bisects Caribou River Provincial Park, a 764,000 ha protected area by regulation since 1995, and supported for permanent protection by the Sayisi Dene within whose traditional lands the park lies. Another route option runs through Sand Lakes Provincial Park and the Amisk Park Reserve. Both are protected from development by regulation. There are also several Areas of Special Interest (ASIs) under review for protected status - along Hudson Bay's western shores that may be impacted by the proposed road. Most of these have been approved for protection by the Manitoba mining sector. View the May 9, 2005 Manitoba Transportation letter regarding the route selection study (PDF) View the Manitoba Transportation map of the proposed route options for the Nunavut - Manitoba road View Manitoba Wildlands' June 2005 map of the route options and protected areas Sources: Manitoba Department of Transportation and Government Services, Manitoba Wildlands |
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