Exciting News, Bill 38: The Protected Areas Act Passes Third Reading

Bill 38: The Protected Areas Act passed third reading in the Legislative Assembly yesterday following a intense period of review hosted by the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment (SCEDE). Minister of Environment Robert C. McLeod accepted thirty amendments including the specific acknowledgement of Dinàgà Wek ’èhodì, Thaidene Nëné, and Ts’ude niline Tu’eyeta as candidate protected areas to be advanced under the Act.

Now that third reading has occurred the Bill will, as stated by the Minister, come into force within the life of this Assembly.

CPAWS-NWT has participated in development of Bill 38 starting in 2017 as part of the stakeholder working group and are pleased to see that our participation has contributed to a Protected Areas Act that will serve ecosystems, biodiversity, cultural continutity and development of conservation based economies.

We thank the Minister of Environment Robert C. McLeod, his GNWT staff, the technical working group and SCEDE for their various roles in co-drafting and reviewing the legislation and moving it through to a unanimous vote in the legislative assembly.