Environment committee  Mr. Chair, there has been a lot of discussion on the concept of ecological health, but I would refer the committee to clause 6 of the bill: The Minister must, in the management of the Park, take into consideration— —not only ecological health, but— —the protection of its na

Environment committee  First, Mr. Chair, I think it's important for the committee to understand that this is not a precedent. Even within the national park establishment, several parks, when initially established, were at less than 50%, less than half. Grasslands National Park is a good prime example,

Environment committee  No, Mr. Chair, what we are proposing is 58 square kilometres as the proposed study area in the park area. At this point we are still working with Ontario for them to deliver on their commitment that we made jointly.

Environment committee  With the boundary that's been identified, 58 square kilometres is what we—

Environment committee  We have agreement now with everyone except Markham, which we're still having discussions with.

Environment committee  No, that is the boundary of the park that we have consent on.

Environment committee  As with any park anywhere in Canada, things may change over time, but we always have a boundary that we work with in terms of the initial establishment, and that is the boundary.

Environment committee  We have identified the boundary that we were interested in at the outset of this process. We are continuing that work, and until we've completed that process, we are not supposed to be anywhere—

Environment committee  That's what we're working on now, yes.

Environment committee  The money that's been spent so far is about $224,000, but I'll explain why. We don't just go out and put infrastructure as we feel is required from a Parks Canada perspective only. We work, in this case, for example, with the community, in terms of the cooperative management body

Environment committee  Mr. Chair, when we establish a new national park, we never spend the full amount the first year. The information that was provided at that time by the minister—the $5 million—was the investment, not in year one. It takes a period of time because we work with the community, and th

Environment committee  Well, I'll just use Fort Simpson as a very practical example. We could have gone on our own, spent $5 million, and built the building year one. I think what we're doing is the prudent responsible thing. We're working with the community to jointly deliver together and develop a ne

Environment committee  The funding will be very similar. I can get you the exact numbers for that specific park.

Environment committee  There's been a lot of progress. We're working with the GNWT to work together to identify what the proposed boundaries are for consultation. We have an agreement in principle with the Dene and we are starting the consultation with the Métis of the GNWT.

Environment committee  There are economic benefits. The last study that was done in 2008-09 showed $53 million in economic benefits for the three territories as a result of our national parks. What we're doing now, though, is putting more emphasis on—I call it unleashing the economic potential of our n