Quebec Senator Rosa Galvez has introduced a bill in the Senate — backed by Liberal MP Sophie Chatel — to expand protections of the Gatineau Park and strengthen collaboration with the Algonquin Anishinabeg Nation.
“Gatineau Park is an important ecosystem for the Outaouais region, both for its rich biodiversity and for its recreational use by residents of the region,” said Galvez, a member of the Independent Senators Group, in a press release. “We have the opportunity to strengthen its legal status and ensure the park’s ecological integrity for future generations.”
The bill was drafted following consultations with the Kitigan Zibi Indigenous community, the National Capital Commission (NCC), environmental groups, and surrounding associations and municipalities and aims to protect the ecological integrity of the park.
Chatel, who represents the Pontiac riding in Western Quebec near the park, said she is committing to championing the bill in the House of Commons, which she said will “prioritize the ecological integrity of the park” and ensure that recreational activities at the park are conducted “in harmony with the protection of nature.”
The bill will allow the NCC to request the services and collaborations of businesses and workers from the local Anishinaabe community, Chatel said, to help with the protection of the park and create employment for the community.
If passed, the bill would not allow the public land, which makes up 98 per cent of the park, to be transferred from the NCC without a legislation amendment. The exception to this is if the NCC decided to transfer land for the benefit of the local Indigenous community. This protection of public land is the “main objective” of the bill, she said.
“There’s a lot of pressure to develop around the park, especially from urban centres like Chelsea. Once you have clear boundaries, you can say that within those boundaries, the public will no longer be able to dispose of it, and it will be dedicated for the ecological integrity and the benefit of people of Canada for their enjoyment in harmony with the ecology.”
Chatel said there have been questions around how the election will impact the bill, especially since Chatel said she will need the full parliamentary year to implement it.
“We think it will move quickly, because it’s a nonpartisan bill. We hope that all parties will agree with it. But what happens in an election before it’s received? If the people of Pontiac give me a second mandate, we will hold the bill at the first opportunity,” she explained. “And the benefit of having it tabled at the Senate is that the Senator will be there, come what may, and she is committed to see this bill through, as I am once it reaches the House.”
The office of Public Services and Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos — who also serves as the Liberals’ Quebec lieutenant — said the minister supports Chatel, who is “leading the effort,” but wouldn’t confirm if Duclos is consider introducing the bill as government legislation.
