Mr. Speaker, in response to parts (i), (ii), (iii), (iv) and (v), with respect to the protected areas addressed in Bill S-14, an act to amend the Canada National Parks Act, the Canada National Marine Conservation Areas Act, the Rouge National Urban Park Act, and the national parks of Canada fishing regulations, extensive consultation and engagement on the intent to expand or complete the establishment of each of these protected areas has taken place.
Within Bill S-14, there are planned expansions for seven national parks and one national park reserve and the creation of two new national parks. Much of this land is already under the control and administration of Parks Canada, and in some cases for over 20 years. As such, the consultation and engagement has been varied and dependent upon the circumstances, has been supported by local ongoing working relationships and has occurred over an extended period of time.
Specifically, regarding the creation of new protected areas, Parks Canada begins consultation and engagement with provincial and territorial governments and indigenous governments and organizations at the feasibility stage where a potential protected area site is initially selected. This consultation and engagement is critical and carries on throughout the establishment process. Consultation processes with partners, key stakeholders, provincial and territorial governments, indigenous peoples, and representatives of communities located in or near the national parks and national marine conservation areas occurred in many communities and took many forms. This includes face-to-face meetings, correspondence, community newsletters, public open houses, community participation in the development of park management plans, and other fora.
Canada has a legal duty to consult and accommodate, where appropriate, when it contemplates a project that may adversely impact upon the section 35 rights of indigenous peoples and takes these responsibilities very seriously. In fact, in a number of cases, protected areas that will be established or expanded within modern treaty areas are a requirement of land claim agreements or other agreements with modern treaty and self-government partners.
Concerning the detailed aspects of the question, Parks Canada undertook an assessment to determine the amount of information that would fall within the scope of the question. The information requested is not systematically tracked in a centralized database. In some cases, Parks Canada has had administration and control of the lands for 20years or more and the lands have been managed as though they were part of the park during this period and consultation and engagement has occurred via formal and informal means throughout the time period. Parks Canada has concluded that producing and validating a comprehensive response to the question would require a manual collection of information that is not possible in the time allotted and could lead to the disclosure of incomplete and misleading information.