MWF urges access for all at Rosa meeting

About 70 people filled seats in Rosa on Feb. 27 to hear the Manitoba Wildlife Federation share their concerns over IPCAs (Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas) being formed in the province.

Rob Olson discussed federal projects inspired by a UN resolution called by 30 by 30, a bid to have 30 percent of land protected by 2030.

Manitoba has offered up crown land for this project, but Olson said there are many concerns, not the least of which is that Manitoba hunters and anglers will be prevented from using crown lands as a result.

With 100 clubs across the province and about 14,000 members, Olson said the MWF wants to ensure these lands are conserved for all, with ongoing access.

He told the crowd this campaign began with a moose.

On short notice at the urging of MKO (Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakinak) moose licences were cut by 75 percent.

These changes were not made based on science but thanks to lobbying.

IPCAs have also been implemented, and consultation was only held with affected Indigenous communities even though in some case they affect farmers, private land owners, tourism operators and the general hunting public.

Olson said they want a seat at the table, telling the crowd that reconciliation is a two-way street. He added there should have been land-use discussions much earlier. “We should have talked to them 30 years ago,” he said of the moose issue.

There are 62 IPCAs planned for Canada with nine slated for Manitoba.

The Seal River watershed covers 50,000 square kilometres, or about 12 million acres. Only members from four Indigenous communities were allowed to attend consultation meetings which were held in midsummer of last year, despite that land being home to 47 tourism operators.

Fisher River is also involved in an IPCA, and while Olson said they have “a ton of respect” for their leadership who agreed to changed net sizes and quotas to maintain the Lake Winnipeg fishery, they want to be part of consultations.

They also question why lobby groups like the Canadian Parks & Wilderness Society are being given responsibility. A meeting held in Riverton on Jan. 31 revealed what he called unanimous opposition to a planned project where CPAWS staff were unable to answer questions.

Olson told the crowd the idea that these crown lands are part of treaty land entitlement is incorrect. In Manitoba 1.4 million acres must be given back to Indigenous communities as part of the TLE process. That is about 40 percent accomplished at this time.

The 23rd meeting hosted by MWF on this topic, this was the first to come to the Southeast, but Olson said, not the last.

“We want to get to every sizable town really,” he said.

And while the debate invariably includes questions on Indigenous rights, Olson said it’s not an “us against them” situation, something the crowds attending the meetings seem to understand.

“They’re supportive of Indigenous people doing well, everywhere I’ve gone nobody has been against reconciliation but they’re not comfortable with government taking the approach of excluding them,” he said. “They just want to be included, and they want to have a say in how the lands are used, and they want access to (crown) land.”

“We have a deep respect for Indigenous people and there’s a collective, I think, spirit or belief that everybody wants Indigenous people to do well,” he said. “I think people understand that for the province to be successful, we need Indigenous communities to be successful.”

Olson said he was warned the meetings could be contentious, becoming a forum for those who simply show up to rant.

That’s not been the case Olson said, adding they have Indigenous hunters show up as well.

The MWF is urging people to get informed, ask questions, engage by sending letters to elected officials and support them financially.

“We’re opposing a vision that’s got hundreds of millions of dollars behind it, of taxpayer money,” he said. “We survive on the support of grassroots people, like one $20 raffle ticket at a time.”

Olson said this represents giving up sovereignty of 30 percent of the province to the federal government.

“Every Manitoban should have a say in that, regardless of their opinion,” he said.

Olson said he’s like to see a land plan for the entire province created with all stakeholders.

“That will be tough, and it will be difficult with possibly lots of disagreements and maybe even arguments, but that’s the only hope we have here,” he said.

Ian Kirby, president of the St Malo & District Wildlife Association said they were pleased to co-host the event with the MWF.

“We were really encouraged to see participation from 70 individuals here in a public meeting tonight,” he said.

Kirby presented Olson with a cheque for $5,000 from the local association.