Travel Manitoba report on provincial parks draws ire of wilderness advocate

A new report says Manitoba's parks have untapped economic potential, but not everyone is giving it a thumbs-up.

The 108-page report, Evaluating the Tourism Potential of Manitoba's Provincial Parks, was released Thursday, and it does little more than take up a lot of space arguing for financial sustainability, rather than ecological sustainability, wilderness advocate Eric Reder argues.

Reder, Manitoba's wilderness and water campaigner for the Wilderness Committee, says the report, which was prepared by the consulting firm MNP on behalf of Travel Manitoba, lacks substance on protecting biodiversity and climate.

"There is no protection for ecosystems," Reder said on CBC Manitoba's InfoRad Friday morning. "This is a lobbying report for private businesses to take advantage of our parks. That is exactly what this document is."

Among its recommendations, the report examines opportunities to enhance visitor experiences — including Manitobans with disabilities, low-income Manitobans and newcomers to Canada — by making strategic investments in infrastructure and taking a client-centred approach to operations involving expanded partnerships including with Indigenous communities, according to a Thursday news release from the province.

The report also recommends the modernization of the parks reservation system, which the province says is already underway, and undertaking a review of park-related fees to support the sustainability of the parks system.

Environment, Climate and Parks Minister Jeff Wharton said in the release that the government is not considering any changes to park entry and camping fees at this time, with which Reder strongly disagrees.

"The answer is to extract more user fees to develop some more pieces of the park," Reder said. "Nature ecology is the essential piece of the park."

"The reality is that positive experiences that we have in nature are because we've allowed nature to thrive in these places," he said. "You don't get to develop a park and turn it into an amusement park, and then still have the pieces of nature.

"That's one of the pieces they are missing [in the report]."

Reder did note there are a few positives in the report, such as the recommendation to upgrade campground sites and spend more money on what he called "chronically underfunded" parks.

Investing in the accessibility of parks via back-country hiking trails, or for people with movement concerns is something he would like to see.

But Reder says these are things park staff have said over the last 20 years.

"The parks system director for a region of the province, they know all of these things. We didn't need a consultant's report to tell us that we need to improve our parks," Reder said.

He says "the government is going to do what the government is going to do," but is a strong proponent that the biodiversity agreement signed by 196 countries earlier this month in Montreal should guide how Manitoba manages its parks, including the creation of more parks.

A statement from Wharton on Friday said the recommendations provided in the report will be reviewed and guide the province in forming a new parks strategy.

"Manitoba's parks are world-class destinations, and we look forward to developing a future-focused strategy to grow our parks system for generations to come," Wharton said.

In the new year, the Manitoba government will be launching a public survey to seek input on all aspects of the province's new park strategy.