Mr. Speaker, it is more than an honour to rise this afternoon to speak to a bill which is the culmination of decades of work by thousands and thousands of Canadians, previous governments, previous cabinets, previous caucuses, previous prime ministers and existing prime ministers. It really is an act which transcends decades of goodwill and good faith from Canadians from across the country and of course the great people of the Deh Cho First Nations.
This is indeed a spectacular moment for Canada. It is spectacular because we are one step closer to maintaining precious and increasingly rare natural capital. This is a legacy for all, as the minister has pointed out, a legacy not just for Canadians but for the world and we need more of it. We need more of it in this country, we need more of it on this continent, and we need more of it on this planet.
For Canadians watching or reading, the bill is really an effort to overcome some challenges in a major expansion of territory from some 5,000 square kilometres to over 30,000 square kilometres of what is spectacular mountain terrain, unique geological land forms and crucial wildlife habitat.
In so doing, what we are really allowing for here as parliamentarians is to accommodate certain third party interests in this expansion area. As the official opposition we are satisfied. We have been assured by Parks Canada, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, the leadership and the people of the Deh Cho First Nations, and the minister and his officials themselves that these changes to the Canada National Parks Act are indispensable to bringing about the legislative and regulatory changes that are required in order to enlarge the Nahanni National Park Reserve of Canada.
We are satisfied that these new powers, these new regulatory changes, are a reasonable balance, but we do have residual and continuing concerns about, for example, whether we are setting the right precedent. This is not only important for the expansion of Nahanni but also possibly for the expansion of other parks and reserves across this magnificent country.
We want to be careful not to create weaknesses in the park system, not to create unnecessary precedents for economic activity for example.
Therefore, as parliamentarians I am sure we will all be monitoring closely the exercise of these new or amended powers as set out in the bill which allows for careful crafting, a collage, the bringing together of an expanded territory to, as I said, expand our natural capital.
It is important to reflect back on the fact that this has been in motion since 1972. If there is any originating group or effort led by a particular political personality it would have to go to former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau who set aside as a national park reserve in 1972 the Nahanni, gazetted in 1976 under the National Parks Act.
Since then, in 1984, a previous government worked with Parks Canada to increase the size of the Nahanni, building considerably in due course on the very good work of all those hundreds of Canadians who participated on the panel on ecological integrity. That panel was struck by a previous government, a Liberal government at that time, and examined fundamental questions around the ecological integrity of our park system, not just the ecological integrity but the degree to which our park system was connected and whether it was working particularly for our large predatory species. It raised questions and concerns which linger not only for our parks right across the country but, yes, even in the context of this expansion.
It raises questions around the notion of buffering our national parks and ensuring that economic activities such as mining or petroleum exploitation which abut or come up to the edge of a national park is in fact properly buffered.
The very words in the ecological vision for the Naha Dehé are striking. This is an excerpt from the park management plan. It states:
Dene are inseparable from the land. Traditional subsistence harvest will continue to be an integral and sustainable part of the ecosystem and will occur in accordance with Dene laws and principles.
Naha Dehé will continue to be revered as a place of mystery, spirituality and healing. Naha Dehé will be a model of cooperative management with First Nations of the Dehcho where ecological and cultural integrity is protected, visitor access and enjoyment is encouraged within the limits of ecological integrity and wilderness experience, and messages of natural and cultural heritage are communicated with excellence.
The magnificence in the creation of the expansion and the expansion of this Nahanni National Park Reserve speaks to our future and whether or not we will be wise enough as a species to learn how to live within the caring capacity of the planet itself.
This territory, this expanded land mass, will serve as a reminder that we can do better and we must do better, that we have the know-how, we have the science. It is now the question of will and the question of managing our way forward so that we can increase understanding, so we can enhance ecological integrity, not just within a parks system or a specific park such as the Nahanni but right across this incredible country and continent.
We have satisfied ourselves that the work we launched in 2003, through the Deh Cho First Nations and Parks Canada memorandum of understanding, has been more than productive. That expansion working group in 2003, set by the Nahanni, looked at the grizzly bears, the woodland caribou, the Dall sheep and the bull trout, the vegetation, the forest fires, the glaciers, the landscapes, tourism and the socioeconomic implications, and the impact for the park.
It is true that extensive public consultations have been held and that will be important in the context of remaining engaged with our citizenry and our first nations people as we go forward to complete this job.
We know that 9% of the Deh Cho part of the greater Nahanni ecosystem has been excluded from the expanded national park reserve. We know this represents virtually all of the hydrocarbon potential, and about half of most of the important mineral potential identified in the area, as well as 100% of the existing mineral claims and mineral leases.
As parliamentarians, we will be watching closely. All of us have that obligation. We will work co-operatively to ensure that our parks system and our reserves systems are properly connected, that they are properly buffered, so that we can enhance our natural capital as opposed to draw it down.
In closing, I would like to congratulate all previous governments, all parties here today, all non-governmental organizations that have been involved in this process over decades, the Deh Cho First Nations, the people of Canada, and the wisdom of all who have seen fit to bring this to a successful conclusion for Canadians today, citizens around the world, and future generations.