Protected Area Expansions for Missinaibi Provincial Park and Woodland Caribou Provincial Park

Ontario continues to expand greenspaces across the province to create new opportunities for outdoor recreation while providing communities with critical support related to tourism, job creation and economic development. At the same time, Ontario is strengthening its commitment to conservation and safeguarding the province’s environment for future generations.

As part of this initiative, the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) regularly works to grow Ontario’s system of protected areas by creating and expanding provincial parks and conservation reserves under the Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act, 2006 (PPCRA). Ontario currently has 342 provincial parks that protect over 8.3 million hectares (over 20 million acres) and 296 conservation reserves, comprising over 1.5 million hectares (almost 4 million acres) that are regulated under the PPCRA.

The ministry is now proposing to expand the boundaries of Missinaibi Provincial Park and Woodland Caribou Provincial Park by amending Ontario Regulation 316/07: Designation and Classification of Provincial Parks (O.Reg. 316/07) under the PPCRA.

The proposed expansions include additions to Missinaibi Provincial Park and one addition to Woodland Caribou Provincial Park, totalling 27,744 hectares (68,557 acres) of land to be added to Ontario’s protected areas system. Details are outlined below.

We are seeking feedback on these proposed additions to existing protected areas. The ministry will collect information through this consultation to inform whether these sites will proceed to regulation under the PPCRA.

Overview of Proposed Provincial Park Additions

Missinaibi Provincial Park Additions:

Missinaibi Provincial Park is a 116,110 hectare (286,914 acres) operating waterway class provincial park that was established in 1970. The main gate of Missinaibi Provincial Park is located approximately 80 kilometres north of the town of Chapleau and 280 kilometres west of the City of Timmins.

This park is representative of Ontario’s Lake Abitibi (3E) and James Bay (2E) Ecoregions. Missinaibi Provincial Park flows for 500 kilometres along the Missinaibi River, a Canadian Heritage River designated for its significant Indigenous, fur trade and logging cultural heritage, its outstanding natural heritage, and its wilderness recreation.

The proposed expansion of Missinaibi Provincial Park includes the Thunder House Falls addition identified through Ontario’s Living Legacy Land Use Strategy - a land use planning process that was carried out from 1997 to 1999 - as well as linear additions along approximately 100 kilometres of the Missinaibi River and Brunswick Lake identified in the 1994 preliminary management plan. Together, these additions would increase the park’s area by approximately 24,490 hectares (60,516 acres).

The proposed Thunder House Falls addition as well as linear additions along the Missinaibi River and Brunswick Lake have been designated as a recommended provincial park under the MNR’s Crown Land Use Policy Atlas (CLUPA) and have received protection from industrial activities like mining and commercial forestry activities since 2006 and 2017, respectively. These additions are currently managed under the Public Lands Act, 1990 (PLA) (see map of proposed additions in related files below).

The proposed additions are located within the Pagwachuan Boreal Caribou Range.

These proposed additions were previously consulted on, including in 1999 under Ontario’s Living Legacy Land Use Strategy (see ERO posting PB7E4003) and in 2003 during management planning (see ERO posting PB03E2001).

Woodland Caribou Provincial Park Addition:

Woodland Caribou Provincial Park is a 470,638 hectares (1,162,972 acres) operating wilderness class park that was established in 1983. It is located approximately 30 kilometres west of the town of Red Lake and 90 kilometres north of the City of Kenora.

The park and its proposed addition are largely representative of Ontario’s Sydney Lake Ecodistrict (4S-1), and adjacent to the Berens River Bedrock Plateau (3S-1).

The proposal to expand the boundary of Woodland Caribou Provincial Park includes the addition of one site referred to as the Northern Peisk Lake Park Addition, totalling 3,254 hectares (8,041 acres) located along the eastern boundary of the park. This addition is known for its natural values and would contribute to future recreation and tourism opportunities. The expansion aligns with a natural boundary marked by the prominent Peisk Lake Cliffs. Regulating this area would improve the integrity of the headwaters for the Bloodvein River (a Canadian Heritage River) and provide critical habitat for many species, such as Boreal Caribou and wolverine.

The proposed addition is located within the Berens Boreal Caribou Range.

This addition to Woodland Caribou Provincial Park is located in Ontario’s Far North and is an area identified and approved for protection in Pikangikum First Nation’s 2006 Community-based Land Use Strategy (Keeping the Land: A Land Use Strategy), and in the Woodland Caribou Signature Site Management Plan. In preparation for regulation, an amendment to the CLUPA occurred in 2006 placing the area into ‘Recommended Provincial Park’ status. This allows for protections from industrial activities such as commercial forestry and mining under the PLA, until regulation under the PPCRA occurs.

This addition was previously consulted on in 2006 under the Whitefeather Forest and Adjacent Areas Land Use Strategy (now referred to as Keeping the Land: A Land Use Strategy) (see ERO posting PB03E1003) and as part of the Woodland Caribou Signature Site Management Plan (see ERO posting PB02E6023).

Proposed changes to PPCRA regulations

In order to expand the boundaries of the existing provincial parks, we are proposing to amend Ontario Regulation 316/07 under the PPCRA. Amendments would update “Column 2: Land Set Aside” in “Table 1: Provincial Parks of Ontario” of the regulation to modify:

• the provincial park’s size
• the description of the park’s boundaries (including the proposed new area)

It is anticipated that common recreational activities, including fishing and hiking, that are currently taking place on the proposed additions, would continue should the sites move forward to regulation under the PPCRA. No changes are currently proposed to existing park management direction. Any future proposed changes would be considered through a separate park management planning process which would include public and Indigenous consultation.

Existing small-scale commercial uses currently permitted in the proposed additions may be able to continue, in accordance with the PPCRA. Industrial activities prohibited by the PPCRA such as aggregate extraction, prospecting/mining, and commercial forestry would continue to be restricted.

If the areas proposed for protection are regulated as provincial parks, this would not prohibit Indigenous communities from exercising their Aboriginal and treaty rights. Indigenous communities may exercise these rights in the provincial parks subject to safety and conservation concerns.

Proposed changes to regulate hunting

Under the PPCRA, hunting is not permitted in a provincial park unless it is allowed by regulation made under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997 (FWCA).

Hunting is currently permitted in Missinaibi Provincial Park, except for the part that intersects the Chapleau Crown Game Preserve that is managed by the MNR. Similarly, hunting is currently permitted in certain portions of Woodland Caribou Provincial Park.

It is proposed that hunting would continue to be permitted in the areas of the proposed additions to both Missinaibi and Woodland Caribou Provincial Parks if regulated under the PPCRA, consistent with the hunting rules in Ontario Regulation 665/98: Hunting (O. Reg. 665/98) under the FWCA. These requirements are set out in clause 110(b) of Ontario Regulation 665/98 which enables the hunting of game mammals, migratory game birds, or game birds (but not furbearing mammals) beginning the later of the first day of the open season for that mammal or bird or September 15 until the last day of the open season for that mammal or bird. The hunting of Boreal Caribou would continue to be prohibited.

Enabling hunting to continue would also align with the direction approved by Pikangikum First Nation and Ontario in Keeping the Land: A Land Use Strategy.

In addition to the proposal to regulate these sites under the PPCRA, a consequential amendment to Ontario Regulation 663/98 is being proposed under the FWCA to allow continued hunting in Woodland Caribou Provincial Park. Ontario Regulation 663/98 currently permits hunting in Missinaibi Provincial Park, so no regulation amendment is required to provide for continued hunting in the Missinaibi Provincial Park addition.

The ministry is seeking comments on the FWCA regulatory proposal as part of this ERO proposal notice posting; a separate opportunity for comment will not be provided.

Regulatory Impact Analysis

The ministry does not anticipate any new costs to regulated entities resulting from the regulation of new lands under the PPCRA and enabling hunting under the FWCA and welcomes feedback on any potential site-specific impacts. The proposal entails substantive benefits to the general public, including protection of sensitive Boreal Caribou habitat and permitting environmentally sustainable recreation to continue.

Other Opportunities for Consultation

The ministry will be contacting Indigenous communities, provincial and regional stakeholders, the federal government, and the local communities directly to advise them of the proposal.

If you are interested in having your contact information added to the direct notification list for this project, please contact us at protected.areas@ontario.ca.