Manitoba Wildlands
Federal Election Survey 2004

Voting Box
This election survey has been sent to five political parties in Canada. (Election day is June 28, 2004.) For details on public policy regarding Manitoba's lands and waters, 2003 election environment commitments, policy and protected areas mapping, go to our Governments page. Each question has been posed to the political parties based on their campaign to form government in Canada. The survey requests either a Yes or No answer to each question, with comments optional. Please Note: responses from the political parties have not been altered in any way. When a party did not answer a question with a definite Yes or No, " — " was entered.
NOTE - Only 3 parties responded (NDP, Green Party, Liberals).

Protected Areas    Species At Risk    Water
Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA)
East Side Lake Winnipeg    Energy & Climate Change
   

Protected Areas Questions

Q1 Will your government honour and fulfill the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Manitoba Government for a new national park in Manitoba's Interlake region?

  YES NO Comment
NDP —
Conservative — — TBA
Green Party    
Liberal   Yes we will honour this commitment. The strategy of the federal government in respect to completing the National Parks system is to ensure that all the significant terrestrial and marine ecosystems are represented. The Environment Canada studies have selected the Interlakes area as the best candidate for a new national park.
Bloc — — TBA



Q2 Will your government abide by existing Manitoba protocols for consultation with First Nations about protected areas establishment, specifically the Manitoba First Nation Protected Areas MOU, in the negotiation process for the national park referred to above?

  YES NO Comment
NDP
Conservative — — TBA
Green Party    
Liberal   Consultation with First Nations is expressly written into the stakeholder participation requirements of the federal protected areas policy. It has been a feature of the process that led to the announcement of ten new National Parks in 2003 and there is an expectation this will be a part of any future negotiations for protected areas.
Bloc — — TBA



Q3 Will your government allocate new financial resources to the Riding Mountain Biosphere Reserve for management of this important area?

  YES NO Comment
NDP — — TBA
Conservative — — TBA
Green Party    
Liberal  
Bloc — — TBA



Q4 Will your government enter into an agreement with the Government of Manitoba to protect the area around Wapusk National Park (currently designated as a Manitoba Wildlife Management Area)?

  YES NO Comment
NDP — — TBA
Conservative — — TBA
Green Party    
Liberal    
Bloc — — TBA



Q5 Will your government cooperate with the Manitoba government to establish National Wildlife Refuges (under the National Wildlife Act) if such designation is requested by affected First Nations?

  YES NO Comment
NDP — — TBA
Conservative — — TBA
Green Party    
Liberal  
Bloc — — TBA



Q6 Would your government commit to cooperation (through the Department of National Defense) with the Manitoba Government to work towards designation of additional protected lands within the Shilo Defense Base? (Precedent set in 1998 with protection of 10,000 ha of lands and waters for non-military use.)

  YES NO Comment
NDP — — TBA
Conservative — — TBA
Green Party    
Liberal     At the time of a national campaign, this question is too specific. However, it appears there is a strong case for adding protected land and extending the area already reserved for non-military use. The Liberal party remains committed to the principle that federal government closely cooperate with provincial counterparts in questions of landscape management and protection.
Bloc — — TBA



Q7 Would your government commit to cooperate (through Agriculture Canada) with the Manitoba Government to work towards protection of community pastures in southern Manitoba? (Grazing rights protected also.)

  YES NO Comment
NDP
Conservative — — TBA
Green Party    
Liberal   Yes, this is a good area to enter into cooperation with the Manitoba government.
Bloc — — TBA



Q8 Would your government cooperate with the Manitoba government to protect the tall grass prairie lands within the Department of Defense (Winnipeg) St. Charles rifle range?

  YES NO Comment
NDP — — TBA
Conservative — — TBA
Green Party
Liberal — — This is an issue that needs to be studied more closely. From the standpoint of a national-scale campaign, we can not comment on designs for specific federal sites and parcels of land unless there is already a process underway.
Bloc — — TBA



Q9 Would your government cooperate with Manitoba to designate a Marine Protected Area adjacent to Wapusk national park, in Hudson Bay?

  YES NO Comment
NDP
Conservative — — TBA
Green Party    
Liberal — — At present, there are no concrete plans at this time to establish a Marine Protected Area in this location. However, the overall approach of the Liberal government has been in direction of more action on Marine Protected areas. Environment Canada, for example, is guided by the principle that all eco-zones in the country including the marine environments should receive some measure of protection in the form of either a National Park or Marine Protected Area. And it appears that the Arctic and Hudson Bay coastal ecosystems are in need of protection; so far, attention has been focused on the Pacific and Atlantic shoreline and coastal habitats.
Bloc — — TBA



Q10 Will your government support "Canada's updated Tentative List for World Heritage Sites (WHS - April 2004)" and take an active role in the process to nominate and protect Canada's sites, as listed by Environment Canada?

  YES NO Comment
NDP
Conservative — — TBA
Green Party
Liberal   Yes. The government has resolved to pursue the designation of new World Heritage Sites, among the 18 resolutions that were put forth by the CCME (Canadian Council of Ministers on the Environment) in 2001.
Bloc — — TBA



Q11 Will your government actively support the Atikaki/Woodland Caribou/First Nation World Heritage Site transboundary nomination? (East side of Manitoba/north west Ontario)

  YES NO Comment
NDP
Conservative — — TBA
Green Party    
Liberal This site is a very appropriate candidate for World Heritage status and our government will support its nomination, among other notable natural heritage places.
Bloc — — TBA



Q12 Will your government work with the provinces to move Canada's Heritage River System to protected status through either federal or provincial or territorial designation?

  YES NO Comment
NDP
Conservative — — TBA
Green Party    
Liberal — — This is an evolving and complex area of legislation. The Heritage River System is becoming increasingly recognized as a vital part of Canada`s natural heritage. The best approach to achieving a framework for protection would be to have national standards – the Liberal party has historically been a defender of the need for strong national standards. This is a complex question with no easy answers, though. Waterways and water courses are a federal responsibility. At the same time, we need to respect the provincial jurisdiction over riverbanks. A key principle in this case is – who can protect the riparian habitat the best? We are committed to using all the legislative tools at the federal government`s disposal. The Liberal government has passed the Species at Risk Act, which could apply in some instances, and remains committed to the international conventions on biodiversity that call for protection of wetlands.
Bloc — — TBA